Kaiser Permanente Medical Center's pilot Tele-Home Health Project.

This is an interim report of a Kaiser Home Health Department study of the use of telemedicine technology in the home care setting. We present our study design and some early findings from the first six months of the project. Preliminary findings indicate the technology is dependable, and that average telehealth video visits are cost-effective and are about 60% shorter (18 minutes vs. 45 minutes) than on-site visits, with no decrease in patient satisfaction. The study will be completed in September of 1997. This study was initiated in 1996 to explore improving access to health services while maintaining quality of care, and to demonstrate the cost effectiveness of remote consultation technology in the home health setting. The the study, which began in May 1996, employs a randomized design approved by the Institutional Review Board and will be completed in approximately one year. This project was titled Tele-Home Health to acknowledge that a multi-disciplinary team would be composed mainly of nurse case managers, but would also include physical therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, home health aides, licensed