Hospital at Home (HaH) Gathers Momentum

Hospital at home refers to programs that enable patients to receive acute care in their homes instead of the traditional hospital care model. Kaiser Permanente, Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic and others advocate that this provides appropriate and safe care at a cost savings, with up to 30% savings when compared to traditional hospital-based care.

Foot & Ankle and HaH

Outpatient total joint arthroplasty is a musculoskeletal application of HaH. Seven articles indexed on PubMed have addressed total ankle arthroplasty as an outpatient service in the past couple of years. In their recent study, "The Safety of Same-Day Outpatient Total Ankle Arthroplasty," Travis Langdon, et al reviewed 51 TAR patients who underwent same-day outpatient TAA over a two-year period. At the time of the surgery, the mean age of the patients was 56.5 years (± 7.2), with a mean body mass index of 30.4 (± 5.3). Overall, there were no perioperative adverse medical events or hospital admissions related to the procedure. Implant survivorship during the most recent follow up was 98%.

Who Wins With Hospital at Home

Patients, payers, and physicians all win with HaH models. Hospitals are on the fence as this disrupts the traditional and expensive in-hospital care model, but those with vision are all strongly on board the HaH train.