Welcome to the HOMR initiative
HOMR is an automated tool that facilitates timely identification of hospitalized patients who are at increased risk of dying in the next year and may have unmet palliative needs.
We work with hospitals around the world to implement the HOMR tool and help patients access the palliative supports they need.
"At The Ottawa Hospital, we are creating innovative approaches to deliver care. Many of the people we treat have an unrecognized elevated risk of dying. If we can identify these people accurately and then engage them in creating a care plan addressing what is most important to them, then we will improve their lives for the time they have left."
Alan J. Forster MD FRCPC MSc
Executive VP, Chief Innovation and Quality Officer, The Ottawa Hospital
“A nurse can use that validated tool as their reasoning to go to a physician and say the patient needs palliative care expertise and this is my proof. That’s the piece that has empowered nurses to maximize their scope and advocate for their patients like never before.”
Nancy Lee Brown
Clinical Learning Specialist, Kingston Health Sciences Centre
“I had an experience with a family member who became a patient with a life altering illness. Had he been identified early on as a chronic illness patient with a short life span, the quality of his life in the last few months would have been improved. A tool such as HOMR would have accomplished this.”
Patti Cox
Patient Experience Advisor, Kingston Health Sciences Centre
What is HOMR?
The Hospital One-year Mortality Risk (HOMR) tool is an application that automatically, accurately, and reliably uses data routinely collected by hospitals upon admission to calculate a person’s risk of dying within the next 12 months. This helps clinicians identify patients who are admitted to hospital who may have unmet palliative needs. The HOMR application is intended to improve the effectiveness of any palliative intervention by focusing attention on patients with a high risk of death and unmet palliative needs, at a timely point in their illness trajectory.
For more information, visit our FAQ.
