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Understanding the health needs of home care patients has become increasingly important as populations age and more people rely on home-delivered medical care. Researchers at University of Tsukuba examined 506 patients receiving physician-led home care in Japan and found that 94.7% were living with multimorbidity, defined as the presence of two or more chronic conditions. Patients with higher levels of multimorbidity were significantly more likely to require emergency home visits. Multimorbidity assessment may help healthcare providers anticipate sudden changes in patients' conditions and plan care accordingly.

Tsukuba, Japan—As Japan's population ages, more older adults are receiving home-based medical care, where physicians regularly visit patients who have difficulty visiting clinics or hospitals. Although multimorbidity has long been common among home care patients, few studies have assessed its prevalence in this population.

The researchers addressed this gap by conducting a multicenter study involving 506 adults receiving physician-led home care from medical facilities in Tokyo and Ibaraki Prefecture. Using information obtained from medical records, the team assessed the number of chronic conditions for each patient and examined the association between multimorbidity level (the number of chronic conditions present) and the occurrence of emergency home visits (unscheduled physician visits requested due to sudden changes in a patient's condition).

The study found that 94.7% of patients had multimorbidity, defined as the presence of two or more chronic conditions. More than half of the participants (57.1%) had four or more chronic conditions. Overall, 13.2% of patients required at least one emergency home visit in the previous month.

The researchers further categorized patients according to multimorbidity level. Compared with patients who had two or three chronic conditions, those with four or five conditions, and especially those with six or more, were significantly more likely to require emergency home visits.

These findings suggest that a simple count of chronic conditions may help healthcare professionals identify home care patients who are at increased risk of sudden health deterioration and may benefit from more proactive care planning.

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This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, 21K15658.

Original Paper

Title of original paper:

Multimorbidity Among Patients Receiving Home Care in Japan: Prevalence, Levels, and Association With Emergency Home Visits

Journal:

Journal of General and Family Medicine

DOI:

10.1002/jgf2.70170

Correspondence

Assistant Professor MASUMOTO Shoichi
Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba

Visiting Researcher Gen Nakayama
Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba
(Senior assistant professor at the Center for Supercentenarian Medical Research, Keio University School of Medicine)

Related Link

Institute of Medicine