Impact of Home Nursing Care on the Consultation Time of Emergency Home Visits: A Prospective Cohort Study / 日本プライマリ・ケア連合学会誌

ABSTRACT

Introduction: This study examined the association between the use of home nursing care and the consultation time of emergency home visits among patients using home health care. Methods: Participants were recruited from three urban clinics in Japan between September 1 and November 30, 2019. Univariate analysis and multivariate negative binomial regression analysis considering institutional clusters were performed on the relationship between the two. Results: A total of 278 patients were included in the analyses. The use of home nursing care was significantly associated with a decrease in the time spent during emergency home visits in both univariate and multivariate analyses (P < 0.018 and P < 0.001, respectively). The multivariate analysis estimated the mean reduction in consultation time to be 10.3 minutes (95% confidence interval, 9.9-10.8). Conclusion: The use of home nursing care reduced the consultation time in emergency home visits. This study suggested that home nursing care can reduce the burden on physicians providing home visits, but further studies are needed to improve collaboration.