A recent study published in PLOS ONE revealed promising outcomes for patients receiving home telemedicine-based hospital care. The research, conducted at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center, compared traditional in-hospital care with a hospital-at-home model for both COVID-19 and non-COVID patients.
The study focused on older adults, with a median age of approximately 80 years. The researchers analyzed data from 159 HAH patients and 477 matched in-hospital controls.
Results showed that HAH patients experienced shorter hospital stays, with both COVID-19 and non-COVID groups spending two fewer days under care compared with their in-hospital counterparts. This reduction in hospital time did not come at the cost of increased readmissions, as the study found no significant difference in 30-day or one-year readmission rates between HAH and in-hospital patients.
Perhaps most notably, the telemedicine-based hospital care approach was associated with significantly lower mortality rates. For COVID-19 patients, the 30-day mortality risk was 66% lower in the HAH group. Non-COVID patients saw a similar benefit, with a 62% reduction in 30-day mortality risk compared with those receiving traditional in-hospital care.
The HAH model used in the study relied on daily telemedicine visits from internal medicine specialists, supported by in-person nursing care and advanced remote monitoring technologies. This approach allowed for continuous medical supervision while keeping patients in the comfort of their homes.
Although the study’s authors caution that further research is needed, the findings suggest that telemedicine-based hospital care could be a safe and effective alternative for many older patients, potentially reducing the risks associated with prolonged hospital stays without compromising care quality.
In addition, telemedicine-based hospital care may help address what’s happening globally, with healthcare systems in general and with their hospitalization arms in particular experiencing hardships in terms of infrastructure, resources and lower availability of skilled healthcare professionals. Studies like this one could help advance the adoption of high technology in the service of telemedicine, and reduce the impact of these challenges.
The McKnight’s Tech Daily is an e-newsletter for the audiences of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care.
