Cost analyses of home care and nursing home services in the southern Taiwan area.

This study compares the cost of long-term care provided at patient homes with that of long-term care provided in nursing homes in southern Taiwan. Caring for a patient with a high degree of dependence at home is more expensive than caring for a patient in a nursing home facility when family costs and provider costs are considered together. This phenomenon is not demonstrated for patients with medium degrees of dependence. To be cost-effective, home care services should target patients with medium physical disability, and nursing home care should focus on patients with high levels of dependence.