Main description:

As noted in the Foreword, this report is one of several volumes resulting from this study of future health care technology. The purpose of the study, as formulated by the STG, was to analyze future health care technology. Part of the task was to develop an 'early warning system' for health care technology. The primary goal of the project was to develop a list or description of a number of possible and probable future health care technologies, as well as information on their importance. Within the limits of time and money, this has been done. However, given the vast number of possible future health care technologies, complete information on the importance of each area could not be developed in any depth for all technology. Therefore, four specific technologies were chosen and were prospectively assessed. These future technologies were examined in more depth, looking particularly at their future health and policy implications. Subsequently, the project was extended to September 1987, and two additional technologies were chosen for assessment.

Contents:

I - General Issues In Home Care.- Section 1 - Home Care.- Historical Perspective.- General Considerations in Home Care.- Needs for Home Care.- Can Home Care Save Resources?.- A Home Care System in Relation to Technology.- How Can a Home Care System be Developed?.- Section 2 - The Present System of Home-Care in the Netherlands.- The Nature of the Health Care Delivery System.- Home Care, Primary Care, and First Line Care.- Policy Perspectives of Home Care.- Population Groups with Special Needs for Home Care.- The 'Core Providers' of Home Care.- General Practitioners.- District Nurses.- The Social Work System.- Family Assistants.- Integrated Provision of Home Care Services.- Some Special Topics in Home Care.- Home Care and Rehabilitation.- Organization of Post-Hospitalization Home Care.- Home Care by Hospital-based Specialists.- Continuous Accessibility of Home Nursing Services, Family Assistance, and General Social Work.- The Almere Health Care Project.- Problems of the Home Care System: Is It Yet a System?.- Problems at the Policy Level.- General Criticisms of Home Care.- Problems in Financing Home Care Services.- Problems in the Personnel of Home Care.- Problems with Technology in Home Care.- Problems for the Patient in Home Care.- Conclusions.- II - General Introduction To Technologies For Home Care.- Section 3 - Some Important Technologies Not Involving Equipment.- Prevention.- Influencing Life-styles.- The Role of Stress.- Nutrition.- Social and Psychological Supports.- Self-care.- Rehabilitation.- Geriatric Rehabilitation.- Terminal Care.- Section 4 - Medical Technologies in the Home.- Diagnosis.- Clinical Monitoring.- Treatment.- Home Parenteral Nutrition.- Drug Delivery Systems.- Cancer Chemotherapy.- Intravenous Antibiotics.- Management of Respiratory Failure.- Renal Dialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis.- Section 5 - Technologies Addressed to Improving Functioning.- Technology and Daily Living.- Prosthetics.- Section 6 - Telecommunications and Computers in Home Care.- Information Technology within the Individuals Home.- Information Exchange between the Home and Health Services.- Information Exchange within the Health Care System.- Information on Available Assistive Aids and Devices.- Section 7 - Conclusions.- Appendixes.- Appendix A. Method of the Project.- Appendix B. Glossary of Terms.- Appendix C. Glossary of Acronyms.- Appendix D. References.- Appendix E. Acknowledgements.