American 'Hospital-at-home' model improves clinical outcomes, patient experience

U.S. researchers report that hospital at home (HaH) care results in a shorter length of stay, improved patient experience as well as fewer hospital readmissions, ER visits and transfers to skilled nursing facilities. HaH provides acute hospital-level care in a patient's home as a substitute for traditional inpatient care. The study compared outcomes of patients who received HaH care followed by a 30-day post-acute period of home-based transitional care with a control group and found:

• Shorter length of stay (3.2 days vs 5.5 days);
• Lower rates of hospital readmissions (8.6% vs. 15.6%);
• Lower rates of emergency department visits (5.8% vs. 11.7%);
• Fewer transfers to skilled nursing facilities (1.7% vs. 10.4%); and
• More likely to rate their medical care highly (67.8% vs. 45.6%).