Hospital at home: an alternative to conventional hospitalization

2024 : a new project is currently in progress on at home hospitalization. The project description and a link to submit your comments can be found here.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a large increase in the demand for hospital-based care in Québec. Despite efforts made to address the situation, hospital capacity remains limited. “Hospital at home” is one of the solutions advocated by many individuals and organizations to address the need to relieve hospital overcrowding, whether in the context of a pandemic or not. This approach involves offering hospital-level acute treatments in the patient’s home, delivered by health professionals, for a condition that would otherwise require conventional hospitalization. Depending on the form hospital at home takes (admission avoidance or early supported discharge), it can reduce the demand for hospital beds or free up beds more quickly.

This knowledge synthesis shows that hospital at home appears to be safe and appreciated by patients, but its implementation presents a number of organizational challenges. To guide consideration of the possible implementation of such a service in Québec, additional analyses could be carried out. Some initiatives already in place in Québec, which resemble this type of hospitalization, offer a starting point for reflecting on the organizational, logistical and legal aspects of its implementation. Such implementation is worth considering, given its potential to increase hospital capacity and relieve overcrowding in the long term by addressing various issues in the health care system.

Sondage - Qu’avez-vous pensé de l’état des connaissances : Hospitalisation à domicile