Community patient treatment plan ‘could save €100m a year’

A pilot project to treat high-risk patients in the community reduced their hospital admission rate by almost one-third.

If the project was replicated nationally, it could potentially shave €100m off the annual healthcare budget, the study’s authors claim.

Carried out by Mallow Primary Healthcare Centre (MPHC) in conjunction with the HSE, the study tracked 71 high-risk patients over the age of 70 after identifying their healthcare needs. The patients were identified from more than 1,100 screened in MPHC.