Background: Hospitalization is the standard of care for acute illness, but hospital care is often expensive, unsafe, and uncomfortable (1). Acute hospital care at home (AHCaH) provides hospital-level care in patients’ homes as a substitute for brick-and-mortar care. Prior research has shown that compared with traditional inpatient hospital care, patients cared for in AHCaH have improved experiences and physical activity levels, with lower rates of mortality, readmission, and discharge to skilled-nursing facilities (2, 3). However, there are few data describing the experience of AHCaH at the national level. In November 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the AHCaH waiver, creating a regulatory and payment pathway for hospitals to deliver AHCaH, with more than 300 hospitals in 37 states approved (4, 5).
Objective: To report on the early national experience of the AHCaH waiver.
Citation:
David M. Levine, Jeffrey Souza, Jeffrey L. Schnipper, et al. Acute Hospital Care at Home in the United States: The Early National Experience. Ann Intern Med.2024;177:109-110. [Epub 9 January 2024]. doi:10.7326/M23-2264
