Costs for 'hospital at home' patients were 19 percent lower, with equal or better outcomes compared to similar inpatients

Health Affairs

Volumn 31, Issue 6, 2012, Pages 1237-1243

  Cryer, Lesley ^a   Shannon, Scott B ^a   Van Amsterdam, Melanie ^b   Leff, Bruce ^c  

^a Presbyterian Healthcare Services   (United States)

^b National Health Service Corps Scholar   (United States)

^c JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

AGED; ARTICLE; FEMALE; HEALTH CARE COST; HOME CARE; HOSPITAL BILLING; HOSPITAL CARE; HOSPITAL PATIENT; HUMAN; LENGTH OF STAY; MAJOR CLINICAL STUDY; MALE; MEDICAID; PATIENT SATISFACTION; TREATMENT OUTCOME;

AGED; AGED, 80 AND OVER; COST SAVINGS; FEMALE; HOME CARE SERVICES; HUMANS; INPATIENTS; MALE; MODELS, ORGANIZATIONAL; NEW MEXICO; OUTCOME ASSESSMENT (HEALTH CARE);

EID: 84862845009     PISSN: 02782715     EISSN: 15445208     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2011.1132     Document Type: Article

References (10)

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7. The comparison group was created using administrative data. The following several factors explain why the comparison group is larger than the group of 348 patients identified as qualified for Hospital at Home admission. First, Hospital at Home accepted admissions from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. only. Thus, patients admitted after hours were admitted to usual hospital care and not offered the option of Hospital at Home. Second, the emergency department, which was the source of most Hospital at Home admissions, was not a perfect referral source and likely did not offer Hospital at Home admission to all patients eligible for it. Third, a referral for Hospital at Home may have been made for a patient at a time when the Hospital at Home program was full and not accepting new patients.
8. Shepperd S, Doll H, Angus RM, Clarke MJ, Iliffe S, Kalra L, et al. Avoiding hospital admission through provision of hospital care at home: a systematic review and metaanalysis of individual patient data. CMAJ. 2009;180(2):175-82.
9. Leff B. Defining and disseminating the hospital-at-home model. CMAJ. 2009;180(2):156-7.
10. Mader SL, Medcraft MC, Joseph C, Jenkins KL, Benton N, Chapman K, et al. Program at home: a Veterans Affairs Healthcare Program to deliver hospital care in the home. J Am Geriatri Soc. 2008;56(12): 2317-22.