A research agenda for hospital at home

Abstract

Background: Hospital at home (HaH) provides hospital-level care at home as a substitute for traditional hospital care. Interest in HaH is increasing markedly. While multiple studies of HaH have demonstrated that HaH provides safe, high-quality, cost-effective care, there remain many unanswered research questions. The objective of this study is to develop a research agenda to guide future HaH-related research. Methods: Survey of attendees of first World HaH Congress 2019 for input on research for the future HaH development. Selection and ranking of important topic areas for future HaH-related research. Development of research domains and research questions and issues using grounded theory approach, supplemented by focused literature reviews. Results: 240 conference attendees responded to the survey (response rate, 55.3%). The majority were from Europe (64%) and North America (11%) and were HaH program leaders (29%), HaH physicians (27%), and researchers (13%). Nine research domains for future HaH research were identified: 1) definition of the HaH model of care; 2) the HaH clinical model; 3) measurement and outcomes of HaH; 4) patient and caregiver experience with HaH; 5) education and training of HaH clinicians; 6) technology and telehealth for HaH; 7) regulatory and payment issues in HaH; 8) implementation and scaling of HaH; and 9) ethical issues in HaH. Key research issues and questions were identified for each domain. Conclusions: While highly evidence-based, unanswered research questions regarding HaH remain, focusing research efforts on the domains identified in this study will serve to improve HaH for all key HaH stakeholders.

Patients’ experiences of being treated for acute illness at home as an alternative to hospital admission: a qualitative study in Denmark

“…This insight is important as the development of our future healthcare system will significantly reduce the number of hospital beds for inpatients and thereby the need to develop and test the efficacy and effectiveness of new innovative ways to treat all kinds of patients at home regardless of the need for monitoring. Leff and colleagues offer a research agenda for evaluating ‘hospitals at home’ and point to nine research domains that have the potential to improve ‘hospital at home models’ for all key stakeholders 19…”

“…Leff and colleagues offer a research agenda for evaluating ‘hospitals at home’ and point to nine research domains that have the potential to improve ‘hospital at home models’ for all key stakeholders. 19 …”

Hospital‐at‐Home: Multistakeholder Considerations for Program Dissemination and Scale

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Virtual Hospitalization at Home After the Covid-19 Pandemic: Time to Consider Our Future Community Healthcare Options

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