Virginia Health System Creates Hospital-At-Home Program 

To expand care options for patients with acute care needs, VCU Health has implemented a hospital-at-home program to provide high-quality acute care remotely, eliminating the need for hospital stays.

Richmond, Virginia-based VCU Health includes an academic medical center, a children’s hospital, a college and four health sciences schools, and one of only two National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers in the state. In fiscal year 2020, the health system conducted 857,454 outpatient clinic visits, 37,346 inpatient discharges, and 86,169 emergency department visits.

Research has shown that hospital-at-home programs can improve patient experience and outcomes by reducing mortality, improving recovery, and reducing readmissions.

For example, a study published in JAMA Network Open involved a review of outcomes following hospital-at-home care and in-hospital stays. Researchers found that patients who participated in hospital-at-home care experienced lower depression and anxiety levels compared to those who received care in the hospital.

Another study published in the American Journal of Accountable Care reviewed costs and care utilization among older adults who moved from hospitals to hospital-at-home care. Using measurements such as propensity score for cost determination, hospital admissions, and emergency department visits, researchers found that organizations could benefit from home-based care delivery methods as it enables the provision of high-quality care at lower costs.

As clinical evidence supporting hospital-at-home care grows, VCU Health implemented a program to provide acute-level care at home. The program will be available to patients battling conditions such as heart failure, pneumonia, and sepsis. The program's goal is to expand care access without the need for travel and in-hospital stays.

VCU Health will provide home hospital-level care through video and remote patient monitoring (RPM) tools. Physicians oversee patients in the program both virtually and in person. Acute care nurses will also visit patients in person. Supplies will be delivered to the patient's home.

The hospital-at-home program adds to the various at-home care options that VCU Health already provides, such as home-based primary care, primary and specialty telehealth care, RPM, and skilled home health and hospice.

VCU Health joins several other provider organizations in implementing a hospital-at-home program.

Tampa General Hospital (TGH) added an option for acute care at home in July 2022. Through this program, TGH patients take part in two daily visits involving a clinical team member coming to the patient's home in person. Participants could also access care teams virtually. The hospital announced it would work with TytoCare to create the TGH Virtual Health Kit, which would include a tablet device allowing for communication between providers and patients.

Another aspect of the program was an RPM component. Through collaboration with Biobeat, TGH provided patients with vital sign-transmitting technology.

Another health system in Illinois also added an option for hospital-at-home care in March 2022. Through collaboration with Biofourmis, Blessing Health System used biosensors and a patient-centric companion app to monitor patients while they remain in their homes.

The artificial intelligence-driven analytics engine would then analyze the data from these tools to determine patient baselines.