BATON ROUGE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Michael Fleming, MD, FAAFP and chief medical officer for Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED), a national leader in healthcare at home, responded today to the recent Journal of the American Medical Association(JAMA) article, “The Future of the Medicare Home Health Program,” authored by Steven Landers, MD.

The article highlights opportunities for improving the value of home healthcare through better aligning payment with value; starting post-acute home health in the hospital; enhancing clinician oversight of home health; increasing the targeting of fraud; and expanding the use of digital and mobile technology.

Amedisys agrees with the comments Dr. Landers made on proving the value of home health and its critical role in improving the healthcare system in America (http://www.amedisys.com/our-company/blog/october-2013/viewpoint-on-home-health-benefit-strikes-chord).

“I applaud Dr. Landers, not only for his assessment that the Affordable Care Act offers opportunities for improving the value of home healthcare, but that further reforms are necessary to ensure that older Americans get the home support they need and Medicare gets value,” stated Fleming.

“The value of home healthcare is little recognized and largely misunderstood. Many have overlooked the advantages it represents for millions of Americans, especially the elderly, chronically ill population. I believe the leaders in our industry, Amedisys included, must begin to support objective research into the program’s efficacy and areas for improvement. Only then will we be able to prove the value of the skilled care we provide in the home each day,” Fleming concluded.

About Amedisys:

Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) is a leading health care at home company delivering personalized home health and hospice care to approximately 360,000 patients each year. Amedisys is focused on delivering the care that is best for our patients, whether that is home-based recovery and rehabilitation after an operation or injury, care focused on empowering them to manage a chronic disease, palliative care for those with a terminal illness, or hospice care at the end of life. The Company’s state-of-the-art advanced chronic care management programs and leading-edge technology enables it to deliver quality care based upon the latest evidence-based best practices. Amedisys is a recognized innovator, being one of the first in the industry to equip its clinicians with point-of-care laptop technology and referring physicians with an internet portal that enables real-time coordination of patient care seamlessly. Amedisys also has the industry’s first-ever nationwide Care Transitions program, designed to reduce unnecessary hospital readmissions through patient and caregiver health coaching and care coordination, which starts in the hospital and continues throughout completion of the patient’s home health plan of care. For more information about the Company, please visit: http://www.amedisys.com.

Amedisys, Inc.
Kendra Kimmons, 225-299-3720
Marketing & Communications
[email protected]

Source: Amedisys, Inc.