About Hospital at Home

Hospital care is not always best for older adults

Hospital Care in the Comfort of Home

Hospital at Home® is an innovative model that provides hospital-level care in a patient's home as a full substitute for acute hospital care. The program was developed by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine and Public Health and successfully tested in a National Demonstration and Evaluation Study.

Already implemented at numerous sites throughout the country, Hospital at Home is now being adopted by health systems, home care providers, and managed care programs as a tool to cost-effectively treat acutely ill older adults, while improving patient safety, quality, and satisfaction.

Funded by a CMS Innovation Center challenge grant, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY, is currently testing Hospital at Home to inform a possible 30-day bundled payment model for fee-for-service Medicare. The John A. Hartford Foundation is funding a research evaluation of the study, and supporting development of technical assistance resources in anticipation of a successful demonstration.

The program is offered to patients who require hospital admission for certain diseases, such as community-acquired pneumonia, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cellulitis. Patients who meet specific medical eligibility criteria can receive hospital-level care–including diagnostic tests and treatment therapies from doctors and nurses–in their own home.

The Hospital at Home consulting team can provide expertise and technical assistance to help your institution evaluate whether to adopt the program as well as to support your implementation and reduce start up timelines. To determine your site's readiness and to learn more about the model and related tools, click here.