Hospital at home is the name for a lesser-known program in which hospital-level care is provided in a patient’s home.
“Hospital at Home is a care model where patients receive acute level hospital-grade care in their own home instead of being admitted to a bricks and mortar hospital,” said Shawn Stack, policy director for the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Hospital at Home is different from other in-home caregiving models such as home health, which is less intense than hospital at home, or telehealth, which is the lowest level of care available in the home.
“It’s a full hospital at home model with 24/7 clinical monitoring; in-home nursing visits; physician oversight; diagnostics delivered to the home, like labs and imaging; infusion therapy; oxygen and other hospital-level treatments,” Stack said.
In addition, hospitals use technology, remote monitoring, telemedicine and connected devices to track vital signs and respond quickly if changes occur with the patient.
“It kind of brings the hospital to the patient instead of bringing the patient to the hospital.” Stack said.
Hospitals use technology, remote monitoring, telemedicine and connected devices to track vital signs and respond quickly if changes occur with the patient.
Patients who qualify are typically those with diagnoses like heart failure, COPD, pneumonia, cellulitis or with certain postoperative needs.
Hospital at home care does need some support, making sure the home is accessible, making sure it’s a safe place for the patient to reside.
Hospital at home can lower the cost of care delivery for certain conditions by reducing the length of stay in the hospital, the physical hospital overhead costs such as meals, facilities, equipment, and also lessens the exposure to hospital acquired conditions.