Invacare Corp. Chairman Mal Mixon was a member of an expert panel that addressed attendees at the 2011 American Academy of Home Care Physicians’ (AAHCP) annual scientific meeting in National Harbor, Md.
“Invacare (invacare.com) has long advocated the importance of home health care and the difference it makes in people’s lives,” Mixon said. “It is patient preferred, has better clinical outcomes and is one-fifth the cost of institutional care. As the focus on safe, clinically sound and cost-effective care continues to increase, care and treatment in the home becomes an even more critical solution.”
The theme of this year’s AAHCP (aahcp.org) event was “Health Care Is Going Home: The Future Is Now.” Mixon represented the perspective of the DME industry and medical device manufacturers, on a panel that also included experts on home health care, hospice and physician house-call programs.
Steve Landers, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Center for Home Care & Community Rehabilitation at the Cleveland Clinic, said, “This was a big step forward for home care. I know Mal’s vision for the home as the center of care resonates with home care physicians. Hopefully, this dialog between home care physicians and leaders of the home health, hospice and HME industries will lead to more collaboration and shared advocacy efforts to make sure more Americans can be independent at home in spite of chronic illness and other maladies.”
AAHCP’s mission is to promote the art, science and practice of medicine in the home. Established in 1988, AAHCP’s membership includes home care physicians, described as “physicians who make house calls, care for homebound patients, act as home health agency medical directors or who refer patients to home care agencies.” Physicians’ specialties include internal medicine, family practice, pediatrics, geriatrics, psychiatry and emergency medicine.
