Program that provides hospital-level care at home is more cost-effective

Delivering certain hospital procedures in patients’ homes can be cost-effective, according to new data. Home Hospital is a pilot program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston that brings certain in-patient procedures — like for infections or heart failure — to patients’  homes in an effort to cut down on costs and complications from being in a hospital environment. In the new study, researchers found that the cost of delivering care at home was almost 40% less than an in-hospital stays. Home Hospital patients also had far fewer lab tests, imaging, and consultations with health care providers than their in-hospital counterparts. The study included only a small sampling of patients who had a low risk of serious complications, so the findings may not yet be completely generalizable.