Community versus hospital: the costs of caring for level III patients.

New health strategies advocate community-based care as a cost-efficient alternative to hospital services. In response to this, a chronic care hospital in Ontario examined the financial requirements needed to supply home care to 10 of its level III patients. The specialized services essential to these patients were tabulated and compared with costs for hospital care. This article describes the study, provides a daily cost breakdown for one patient, and presents its conclusions.