Unnecessary care in nursing homes Research Paper

Unnecessary care in nursing homes - Research Paper Example According to a 2006 report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 23.5% of nursing home residents were hospitalized for unnecessary reasons. In 2010, the World Health Organization revealed that up to 17% of the imaging services prescribed for nursing home residents are unnecessary. This review documents literature on the different aspects of unnecessary care in nursing homes. Ouslander & Berenson (2011) researched on how to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations among nursing home residents. Their study sought to answer the research question of the ways of reducing unnecessary hospitalizations of nursing home residents. The study used a descriptive study design. They found that on-call physicians who are not familiar with the conditions of nursing home residents send them for x-rays that cost Medicare up to $ 10,000 when they would have cost $ 200 only. They concluded that on-call nurse practitioners who visit nursing homes regularly can help reduce misdiagnosis on the conditions of nursing home residents further reducing unnecessary hospitalization among of these residents. Rollin et al (1997) investigated the necessity of imaging services in nursing homes. This was an analysis that sampled individuals who had ever been residents of nursing homes. It sought an answer to the question of whether there are imaging services that are unnecessary. The study found that twenty five percent of all (electrocardiographic services) EKGs conducted in nursing homes in the United States in 1994 in were unnecessary. This cost Medicare a total of $ 8.4 million all of which could have gone to other medically necessary procedures. These authors found that physicians can order for and interpret EKGs for selfish reasons. They concluded that physicians should be checked whether they routinely bill for unnecessary care services. Ashcraft and Champion (2012) investigated the symptomatology that makes physicians