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There’s no place like home

Even if we’ve seen a little too much of our homes in the past year, we can all agree that home is a pretty special place. While a hospital can feel like a second home to many patients with chronic care needs, it can’t replace the comfort and security of their actual home.

In this week’s bulletin, we’ll explore why more health systems are creating hospital-at-home models to provide quality care for patients in their own homes, bolstered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Acute Hospital Care at Home program. Let’s dive in.

Industry insights

• Hospital at Home: Q&A with Dr. Gregory Goodman from Brigham & Women’s Hospital [AVIA]: “My north star is more people at home. It’s that simple,” says Dr. Gregory Goodman, Home Hospital Attending Physician. We sat down with the pioneering doctor to pick his brain about all things hospital at home.
• CMS’s Acute Hospital Care at Home Program: What You Need to Know [AVIA]: Reduced mortality rates. Lower hospital readmissions. Increased cost savings. Hospital-at-home programs aren’t just for show – they drive real results for patients and health systems alike, and CMS has shifted to start supporting these models.
• CIO Spotlight: ChristianaCare’s Randy Gaboriault [HealthcareITNews]: Hospital at home programs are simply not possible without the support of digital solutions to keep patients connected. AVIA Member ChristianaCare turned to existing Amazon Alexa capabilities and remote patient monitoring devices to help them support their patients at home.
• ‘Par for the Course’: Why Hospital at Home Models Took So Long to Catch On [Home Health Care News]: Hospital at home isn’t a new model, as hospitals like Johns Hopkins University have been building out programs since the ‘90s. However, the new CMS waiver made hospital at home feel new because it overcame the most significant barrier to widespread adoption – a reliable reimbursement mechanism.

AVIA events

• May 18, 1 – 1:45 PM CT – Health Equity in the Spotlight: A Conversation with HonorHealth and ChristianaCare 
• Recording – 4 Big Moves to Emerge Stronger with Digital |  View the recording and access the slides

See all events

Spotlight: Dr. Gregory Goodman, Home Attending Physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital

“The key components of getting started with a hospital at home program are clinical, technology, and logistics. They all factor into measuring success and ensuring safety. At BWH, we started small. We had one doctor and one nurse. Over the last few years, our program has tripled in size. We’ve doubled the number of doctors on call and really thought through the operational piece of things. We have a passionate group of people who are aligned with BWH’s mission to take the best care of our community.”

Read Dr. Goodman’s interview

Just for fun: Dude, where’s my couch?

Couches are a centerpiece of your home, and it’s hard to feel at home without one. But, as one group of people found, not having a couch can create an opportunity for bonding during COVID-19 isolation. The New Yorker explores how missing couches and an accidental email CC created a unique community full of bad jokes, commiseration, and matchmaking. Read “Dude, Where’s My Couch?” in the New Yorker