Background Hospital-at-home (HaH) care has been proposed as an alternative to inpatient care for patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Previous reports were hospital-led and involved patients triaged at the hospitals. To reduce the burden on hospitals, we constructed a novel HaH care model organized by a team of local primary care clinics. Methods We conducted a multicentre retrospective cohort study of the COVID-19 patients who received our HaH care from 1 January to 31 March 2022. Patients who were not able to be triaged for the need for hospitalization by the Health Center solely responsible for the management of COVID-19 patients in Osaka city were included. The primary outcome was receiving medical care beyond the HaH care defined as a composite outcome of any medical consultation, hospitalization, or death within 30 days from the initial treatment. Results Of 382 eligible patients, 34 (9%) were triaged for hospitalization immediately after the initial visit. Of the remaining 348 patients followed up, 37 (11%) developed the primary outcome, while none died. Obesity, fever, and gastrointestinal symptoms at baseline were independently associated with an increased risk of needing medical care beyond the HaH care. A further 129 (37%) patients were managed online alone without home visit, and 170 (50%) required only 1 home visit in addition to online treatment. Conclusions The HaH care model with a team of primary care clinics was able to triage patients with COVID-19 who needed immediate hospitalization without involving hospitals, and treated most of the remaining patients at home.
Background Hospital-at-home (HaH) care has been proposed as an alternative to inpatient care for patients with COVID-19. Previous reports were hospital-led and involved patients triaged at the hospitals. To reduce the burden on hospitals, we constructed a novel HaH care model organised by a team of local primary care clinics. Methods We conducted a multi-center retrospective cohort study of the COVID-19 patients who received our HaH care from Jan 1st to Mar 31st, 2022. Patients who were not able to be triaged for the need for hospitalization by the Health Center solely responsible for the management of COVID-19 patients in Osaka City were included. The primary outcome was receiving medical care beyond the HaH care defined as a composite outcome of any medical consultation, hospitalization, or death within 30 days from the initial treatment. Results Of 382 eligible patients, 34 (9%) were triaged for hospitalization immediately after the initial visit. Of the remaining 348 patients followed up, 37 (11%) developed the primary outcome, while none died. Obesity, fever, and gastrointestinal symptoms at baseline were independently associated with an increased risk of needing medical care beyond the HaH care. A further 129 (37%) patients were managed online alone without home visit, and 170 (50%) required only one home visit in addition to online treatment. Conclusions The HaH care model with a team of primary care clinics was able to triage patients with COVID-19 who needed immediate hospitalization without involving hospitals, and treated most of the remaining patients at home.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.