Technology has revolutionized medical care in many ways, improving patients’ experiences at hospitals and facilitating the work of healthcare providers. One of the most recent advancements in the healthcare industry is Hospital at Home (RPM), which has extended the benefits of technology-aided medical care at hospitals to the patients’ own homes.
Through remote patient monitoring, doctors and nurses can provide the same level of care that patients comfortably accommodated at home would receive if they were in a hospital. In this article, you will learn all about this healthcare approach, including requirements for its implementation and how it can benefit patients.
What is Hospital at Home (RPM)?
As the name suggests, this is an innovative way of providing healthcare that allows patients to receive treatment without the need for staying at the hospital. It was first developed at the Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine and Public Health and its feasibility was demonstrated in a National Demonstration and Evaluation Study. RPM stands for “remote patient monitoring” and is the technology behind this approach.
It is also known as virtual hospital care and in-home healthcare. Through RPM, doctors and nurses monitor patients’ symptoms in real time and can recommend and adjust the treatment just as if they were together in the same environment. Before the development of these new technologies, patients with severe acute illness or chronic diseases could not benefit from the comfort provided by homecare.
This remote care approach still counts on a central unit, where doctors and nurses operate medical equipment and telecommunication devices which track and inform, in real time, patients’ vital signs such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation levels. After analyzing the information, they can send recommendations back to patients and guide them on the next steps of their treatment.
Telemedicine is at the core of this approach, as it enables healthcare providers not only to give first guidance but also to keep track of the patient’s experience, symptoms reporting and to also respond to their questions at any time. Telecommunications technology allows comprehensive, patient centered healthcare to be provided in the comfort of the patient’s home with the same level of professionalism that would be offered in a hospital. In the next section, we dive deeper into how in-home healthcare works and who can benefit from it.
Implementation of Hospital at Home (RPM)
First, we should clarify that not all patients are eligible to receive virtual hospital care. Remote patient monitoring has expanded the list of situations where homecare can be provided to patients, but there is still a list of criteria that need to be met before implementing in-home healthcare.
These are some of the factors to consider:
- Medical condition: Before a patient is declared apt to start or continue his or her treatment at home, doctors will analyze their condition, which should be stable enough to allow for remote care.
- Capacity for self-care: Even if the patient’s condition is stable, it is not recommended that they are remotely monitored if they do not have capacity to perform basic self-care tasks such as eating and taking medications, or if they do not have help at home to do this.
- Home environment: As the home environment is replacing the hospital, it should be as safe, clean, quiet and equipped as possible. Hospital staff will ensure that all necessary equipment is correctly installed, making the home environment suitable for hospital-level homecare.
- Geographic location: As mentioned before, remote patient monitoring still counts on a centralized unit where doctors and nurses are based. The patient’s home should be close enough to be serviced by their home hospitalization program.
- The specific hospital program: Each hospital will have their own set of criteria to determine if a patient is eligible to be treated at home, and if the unit can provide the necessary equipment and support for that specific condition.
Planning and Infrastructure
Depending on the patient’s condition, the type of planning and equipment needed may vary. Two patients that have both been declared eligible for virtual hospital care can have very different needs and preferences, so the list of equipment and the healthcare team will be different for each of them. The illness that is being treated is also a factor that makes planning and infrastructure vary on a case-by-case basis.
These are the main aspects considered by a healthcare team when offering virtual hospital care:
- Infrastructure and equipment: Hospitals offering in-home healthcare programs need to be equipped with remote monitoring devices (blood pressure monitors, pulse oximeters, digital thermometers, among others). These are all located in the hospital’s command center for patient remote care.
- Healthcare team: As with hospital-based care, home-based care counts on a variety of healthcare professionals who will communicate with patients. Doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists and physical therapists can compose a remote healthcare team.
- Means of communication: These should include instant communication channels between patients and their assigned team of carers and transferring of real-time data from the patient’s home to the command center.
- Emergency protocols: Urgent situations may happen even in stable conditions, so healthcare providers should be prepared, and patients should know the protocol and how to access emergency care if necessary.
Other Aspects to Consider When Implementing Hospital at Home (RPM)
These are other aspects considered by hospitals when creating a remote patient monitoring plan. They might not be directly related to the patient’s condition but are still very important points to address.- Financial planning: While home based care can be significantly cheaper than hospital care, there are specific costs that need to be taken into account. Reimbursements are the main concern of hospitals implementing home-based healthcare, as there is still some uncertainty regarding payment models and eligibility criteria. This is because this approach is just starting to become more popular, and there is still space to develop and improve in the next years. Reimbursements rates will vary depending on the kind of investment in equipment and infrastructure that the patient needs to acquire, reflecting the complexity of the remote care that the case asks for.
- Regulatory compliance: Also due to the newness of this healthcare approach, laws and regulations regarding virtual hospital care are still not so clear. As the regulatory framework in the matter expands, doctors and healthcare providers in general will need to keep informed about new guidelines on patient safety and quality of care. Ensuring compliance might be a challenge while there is a lack of uniformity in licensing requirements but is an essential part of in-home healthcare implementation.
- Training healthcare workers: Adequate training must be provided, even if the team is composed of medical professionals with years of experience. Remote monitoring equipment can be complex to manipulate, and some of the staff may need training to use telemedicine systems with ease. It is also recommended to offer special training on infection control and safety protocols designed for home care, and to instruct healthcare providers on how to guide patients to follow these protocols.
Advantages of Hospital at Home (RPM)
Remote patient monitoring was developed to improve patient care and provide them with treatment and recovery experiences that are more comfortable and less invasive than long stays at hospitals. Home-based hospital services offer many benefits, including:- Convenience: Patients do not need to commute to and from hospital centers, reducing the stress caused by excessive travel or extended hospital stays, which can be inconvenient for their families as well. Improved communication is another advantage of virtual hospital care that adds convenience, as remote monitoring allows for instant responses. Telemedicine platforms allow patients to share their symptoms and alleviate their concerns as if they were meeting the doctor or nurse in person, while conveniently accommodated in their preferred environment.
- Personalized care: Being in a familiar environment and surrounded by family and friends can help patients to recover faster. Reducing the anxiety caused by having to adjust to the hospital environment, which can appear hostile and stressful to some patients, is a benefit of offering personalized care in the patient’s home. They can adhere to the treatment without changing their personal routines too much. Personalized care also involves totally customized treatment plans, based on the patient’s needs and personal preferences, as healthcare providers are not limited to what the hospital unit can offer.
- Reduced risk of infection and complications: Even the best hospital facilities are subject to higher rates of infections and contamination with bacteria. At home, patients are less exposed to pathogens not related to their illness and that could compromise their immune systems, delaying the recovery process. Remote care reduces the risk of infections and avoids health complications.
How Hospital at Home (RPM) Will Develop in the Next Years
This article has given a brief introduction to this innovative approach to healthcare and its implementation process. We have also acknowledged that healthcare providers are just starting to invest in this approach and benefit from its advantages. Therefore, there is still a lot of space for development, and, in the next years, we may expect new and innovative technologies entering the market.New and better ways to collect and analyze data will enable better treatment protocols and even more patient centered care experiences. It is also expected that the eligibility criteria will change and include a wider range of conditions. Other developments we may expect are:
- The use of wearable devices. These are already becoming popular as personal gadgets, and it is likely that soon patients will be able to use them to monitor symptoms in real time and keep healthcare professionals informed automatically. Intervention would be possible almost as soon as the warning signs appear.
- Virtual hospital care can be a solution to meet a higher demand for healthcare. Because of the aging population, it is likely that the need for personalized, high-quality healthcare will rise, and virtual hospital care will be a cost-effective alternative that traditional healthcare might not be able to provide.
Conclusion
ECLEVAR, as a leading CRO, supports the use of the best of technology to enhance patient care and improve overall patient experience, from clinical trials to develop new treatments to patient-centric Hospital at Home (RPM) services. This revolutionary approach has the potential to generate highly successful outcomes and is a good example of how technological developments can be used to enhance public health.Our team is always up to date with the latest news in the MedTech industry, as innovation and efficiency drive our work. Visit our webiste to know more about the role of CROs in the healthcare sector and do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or if you want to discuss a project.
Key Takeaway Points of This Article
Hospital at Home (RPM) is an approach to patient care and recovery that provides hospital-level care to patients in the comfort of their own homes. Also known as virtual hospital care and in-home healthcare.RPM stands for remote patient monitoring and is the technology that allows for patient centered care without the need to meet a doctor in person.
This is possible through real time monitoring of vital signs and symptoms from the patient’s home. A centralized location receives the reports and healthcare providers can give recommendations and oversee the treatment.
Implementation of virtual hospital care systems requires planning and special equipment such as telemedicine systems and monitoring devices, as well as adequate training of the healthcare team.
In the near future, in-home healthcare may be available to patients with a wider range of conditions and this approach may be a cost-effective alternative that will supply the rising demand for high quality healthcare.
