Medical respite as an intervention for reducing healthcare utilization in individuals experiencing homelessness: a preliminary naturalistic study

National rates of homelessness are rising, creating challenges in providing care for homeless populations after hospital discharge. Without intermediary care solutions, people experiencing homelessness are at higher risk for condition exacerbation and poor health outcomes. Using a naturalistic approach of assignment, this preliminary study compared subsequent healthcare utilization by 95 individuals experiencing homelessness and who were referred and admitted to a medical respite program in the Western United States against those who were not admitted due to lack of bed space. Using a retrospective cohort design, a secondary data analysis on deidentified medical records collected between January 2023 and December 2024, which had been shared between the medical respite program and a large academic medical center in the Mountain West, examined emergency department utilization, non-emergency room treatment utilization, and all-cause 90-day hospital readmissions. Despite statistical limitations due to sample size, results showed possible clinically meaningful differences, such as a 22.9% reduction in emergency room utilization. Nonetheless, the lack of statistical power limits the generalizability of the findings. Preliminary findings suggest that medical respite programs have a meaningful, practical, and clinically significant impact on costs and medical utilization, justifying continued funding and support of the program.