Key result
Hospital at Home provides a credible model of acute medical assessment and treatment without the need for hospital transfer, supported by advances in point-of-care diagnostics.
Why the study?
Increasing acute medical hospital presentations across Europe face limited hospital capacity and staffing, requiring new care models to meet demand beyond traditional hospital infrastructure.
Hospital at home is proposed as a credible model for acute medical assessment and treatment to address increasing hospital demand and limited capacity.
This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.
Recent trends across Europe show a year-on-year increase in the number of patients with acute medical illnesses presenting to hospitals, yet there are no plans for a substantial expansion in acute hospital infrastructure or staffing to address demand. Strategies to meet increasing demand need to consider the fact that there is limited capacity in acute hospitals and focus on new care models in both hospital and community settings. Increasing the efficiency of acute hospital provision by reducing the length of stay entails supporting acute ambulatory care, where patients receive daily acute care interventions but do not stay overnight in the hospitals. This approach may entail daily transfer between home and an acute setting for ongoing treatment, which is unsuitable for some patients living with frailty. Acute hospital at home (HaH) is a care model which, thanks to advances in point of care diagnostic capability, can provide a credible model of acute medical assessment and treatment without the need for hospital transfer. Investment and training to support scaling up of HaH are key strategic aims for integrated healthcare systems.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May address acute care capacity strain; leaves open the need for prospective trials on safety and outcomes.
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Knight et al. (2021) conducted a review in Acute medical illness. Hospital at Home vs. Hospital bed-based care was evaluated. Hospital at Home provides a credible model of acute medical assessment and treatment without the need for hospital transfer, supported by advances in point-of-care diagnostics.
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