For most people, the implied comfort, convenience and effectiveness of hospital-at-home care makes it more appealing than an inpatient stay, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open.
The researchers surveyed 1,134 individuals, of which 23.8% were aged 65 or more years, and 45.7% had chronic health conditions. Roughly 47% of respondents indicated that they were likely or highly likely to choose hospital-at-home care over a traditional hospital stay, whereas about 36% were neutral. Only about 16% suggested that they would not choose hospital-at-home compared with inpatient alternatives.
More than half of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they believe people recover faster at home rather than in the hospital. Approximately 59% said they would feel safe, and 49% indicated feeling more comfortable receiving acute hospital care in the home, compared with a traditional hospital stay.
“Patients, of course, want the best-quality care but often prefer to be at home, especially if technology allows them to work closely with their physician team toward recovery,” Melissa Frasco, PhD, the study’s lead author, said in a statement.
Those preferences for home-based hospital care can help inform policy decisions, the researchers also noted. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services implemented the Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver as a means of increasing hospitals’ bed capacity. In the years following the waiver’s launch, numerous health systems across the United States have experimented with hospital-at-home programs, and many have been successful. As of mid-June, 331 hospitals and 136 systems across 27 states are using the waiver, according to CMS.
The AHCAH waiver, however, will expire at the end of 2024 without congressional action to extend it. And though hospital-at-home is popular among many patients and providers, its future still remains uncertain. In a recent report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission withheld its support for an AHCAH extension, citing insufficient evidence surrounding the waiver’s ability to generate Medicare savings and improved patient outcomes.
“Our findings offer valuable information for policymakers and health systems as they navigate a new landscape of post-pandemic patient care,” Erin Duffy, a co-author of the study, said in a statement. “Extending reimbursement for hospital-at-home care could go a long way toward reducing costs and improving outcomes, benefiting all parties involved.”
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.
