Hospital-at-home programs offer a compelling, clear value proposition for both patients and hospitals. For patients, they provide the comfort of home, with more control over the environment and a less restrictive setting than traditional hospital stays. For hospitals and health systems, these programs not only enhance patient experience and improve outcomes1 but also increase hospital capacity.
Implementing a hospital-at-home program requires a well-structured approach. The natural inclination is for hospitals and health systems to focus on overcoming logistical hurdles, including coordinating transportation and managing medical equipment in diverse home settings. However, it is equally as important to ensure you have the right clinical team in place to best care for hospital-at-home patients.
The Power of a Dedicated Clinical Team
From a clinical perspective, caring for hospital-at-home patients is innately different than caring for those same patients in a hospital setting. Everything from protocols and processes to interactions with the patients shifts enough to require clinical teams caring for in-hospital patients to shift their mindset when caring for hospital-at-home patients.
Because of these differences, hospital-at-home programs often work best with a dedicated team of clinicians, including paramedics, registered nurses (RNs), physicians, nurse practitioners (NPs), and physician assistants (PAs), who are able to exclusively focus on hospital-at-home patients. Without the need to constantly switch contexts, these specialized teams can more effectively navigate the nuances specific to hospital-at-home care.
A specialized team often better facilitates the use of proven, hospital-at-home-specific protocols from admission to discharge. When clinicians split their time between patient populations, it can be more difficult – imagine seeing two patients in the same shift with the same problem – but one is at home and the other is in the hospital. A clinician would need to follow two different protocols to successfully treat them both. A dedicated team gets more repetitions with hospital-at-home patients, allowing them to leverage their experience to deliver better care, develop better insights into which patients are likely to thrive in this setting, and build individualized treatment plans suited for delivery in the patient’s home environment.
Specialized Training: Beyond Virtual Care
Clinical teams caring for patients in hospital-at-home programs need to receive specialized training to develop a unique skill set that goes beyond both traditional bedside care and typical telemedicine.
“Observation becomes paramount in hospital-at-home care,” notes Cherl Phillips, Director of the Clinical Command Center for SCP’s Hospital-at-home program. “We train our nurses to notice subtle changes in a patient’s appearance or responsiveness that might indicate a change in their condition.”
Hospital-at-home-specific training emphasizes keen observation skills and the ability to create rapport in a virtual setting. While clinicians can’t be physically present, they often have more time for each patient and can gain deeper insights into their lives and environments. This insight helps dedicated clinical teams provide excellent patient care throughout the entire episode.
“We use context clues from the patient’s home environment to learn more about them,” Phillips adds. “The pictures in the background, the people that matter to them – these all provide valuable insights that help us deliver more personalized care.”
The Command Center: A Hub of Collaboration and Expertise
Central to a dedicated hospital-at-home model is a clinical command center that serves as the nerve center of the program. This collaborative environment allows clinicians to support one another, share insights, and respond quickly to patient needs.
The command center facilitates:
- Immediate collaboration: Clinicians can easily consult with colleagues, hop on a call together, or provide advice in real time.
- Frequent communication: Multiple daily huddles and continuous interaction foster a cohesive team approach.
- Shared learning: Clinicians can observe and learn from each other’s patient interactions, continuously improving their skills.
- Consistent protocols: A shared environment ensures all team members are aligned on best practices and care protocols.
The command center approach also ensures technology consistency and resilience. All clinicians become experts in the same technology platforms, enabling them to troubleshoot issues not only for themselves but also for patients.
Realizing the Benefits
This dedicated, specialized approach to hospital-at-home care yields significant benefits for all stakeholders.
Patients in hospital-at-home programs often experience improved rest and comfort in their familiar surroundings. This setting can be particularly meaningful for those with serious illnesses.
Patients’ care experiences highlight the profoundly positive impact that hospital-at-home programs can have, offering not just medical treatment, but also dignity and comfort during critical times.
For clinicians, a hospital-at-home program with a dedicated team offers a different pace of work with fewer interruptions and deeper patient connections. Clinicians report greater job satisfaction and a sense of making a meaningful difference in patients’ lives.
A Turnkey Solution for Hospital-at-Home Success
Meanwhile, for hospitals and health systems, the dedicated hospital-at-home team allows for a more scalable program that operates as a new department. Implementing a hospital-at-home program can be challenging, especially for organizations already stretched thin. As Chief Medical Officer for Virtual Care at SCP Health, Dr. Stephen Nichols, notes, “The challenge with almost every innovation in an existing organization is the devotion of time, effort, and resources while maintaining usual operations. Collaboration with others who have already gone down this path reduces the friction.”
A turnkey clinical team like the one offered by SCP Health includes physicians, NPs, PAs, and RNs, who together provide 24/7 care for hospital-at-home patients. The solution allows healthcare organizations to quickly implement and scale their hospital-at-home programs without the need to build these specialized teams from scratch.
This allows the greatest chance for unlocking the full potential of hospital-at-home care, delivering high-quality, patient-centered care that meets the evolving needs of a community while optimizing the hospital’s resources.
Ready to learn more about how SCP Health can support your hospital-at-home initiative? Explore how our specialized clinical teams can enhance your patient care delivery.
1 https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/newsletter-article/hospital-home-programs-improve-outcomes-lower-costs-face-resistance