Homeless patients have complex health care needs leading to the person to take to emergency and hospital care to fulfil their health care and subsistence requirements, many of these ED presentations could be better and more efficiently managed in primary care settings.
4 Hospitals and ED handle acute health issues well but they are not well equipped when having to manage the chronic multi-morbidities which require continuous care3. Primary health care services on the other hand, can provide continuous care for existing medical and psychosocial conditions as well as delivering preventative health care to this population.
The Integrated Care Model Demonstration Model (Homefront) Program described in this report aim to address and overcome the issues described above pertaining to the overuse of EDs for non-urgent health care.