How Does Health Care Burden Patients? Let Me Count the Days.

This article explores the concept of "health care contact days" and how they can impact patients, particularly older adults. Health care contact days refer to the time spent receiving medical care outside of the home, such as doctor visits, procedures, and tests. While these contact days are necessary for accessing essential care, they can also pose challenges and burdens for patients and their caregivers. The article suggests that optimizing contact days by reducing unnecessary care, coordinating care to the home when possible, and making better use of patients' time can help alleviate these burdens. The article serves as an advertisement for a podcast called "Intention to Treat," which covers current medical news and issues and is produced by the New England Journal of Medicine. Listeners can access the latest episode on the NEJM website or through their preferred podcast platform. [Extracted from the article]