Why Hospital at Home, and Why Now?

What’s Trending: Care at Home Is Gaining Momentum—and Healthcare Leaders are Taking Notice

Considering the sizeable patient population that could potentially benefit from acute care at home (up to 25%, though estimates vary), it’s no wonder hospital at home is a hot topic across health system executive suites and board rooms. In fact, our recent digital transformation survey revealed the number of hospitals and health systems planning for hospital at home has doubled in the last year.

But while health system leaders contemplate what role patients’ homes should play in their future clinical network portfolio, few have made it a clear priority. Meanwhile, a growing number of new entrants, non-traditional healthcare providers, physician groups, post-acute providers, and other adjacent players are critically evaluating how they can capture a part of this nascent, high-potential market.

Why It Matters:

Although health systems are currently better positioned than competitors to move into this space, many have not yet seriously evaluated the opportunity given competing priorities such as firefighting the many operational issues that have surfaced in the last year.

At the same time, new and nontraditional care delivery entrants are betting heavily on consumers’ growing demand for home-based care. Consider the most recent example of CVS, Amazon, and UnitedHealth Group accelerating their penetration into the home health market by submitting bids to acquire Signify Health, a company that focuses on activating the home as a key part of the care continuum and lessening dependence on facility-centric care. As the number of well-funded players eyeing the home as a site of care grows, health systems risk ceding some of their historically reliable volumes and experiencing potential disruption of legacy patient-provider relationships.

Health systems should recognize hospital at home as an opportunity to not only compete in the future healthcare context but also as a useful tool to address current operational challenges.

What’s Next:

As healthcare continues to be disrupted by nontraditional players, it would be prudent for health systems to clarify their care-at-home strategies and timing. Recognizing that certain operational challenges are not going away any time soon, it’s also worth understanding how these opportunities can address the pressing operational issues of today.

Given the many ways hospital at home and other home-based care models can drive value, health system executives should evaluate how these models can help health systems manage, survive, and even thrive amid their many challenges. As a next step, we recommend first assessing the business case and feasibility of launching such a program to determine what must be true to succeed and when it makes sense to launch.

Here are some key questions to consider for a hospital at home program:

1. Are you experiencing acute care capacity constraints and/or ED overcrowding?
2. Is the nursing shortage or provider burnout significant at your organization? Is your use of contracted labor having a material impact on economic return per episode of care?
3. Are you pursuing ways to reduce your total cost of care?
4. Is your organization located in a competitive market, in which you need to reach consumers by offering more convenient care options?
5. Are you engaged in facility planning, such as building a new inpatient tower?

If any of these considerations speak to you, hospital at home warrants a more in-depth exploration as part of a broader strategic and operational plan. Although hospital at home is arguably the most talked about example of care at home, progressive health systems view it as a gateway to a more comprehensive and multi-modal care-at-home ecosystem that unlocks a spectrum of new home-based care models.

As more healthcare providers realize the many benefits of bringing care to the patient's home, it stands to become another standard option for appropriately selected patients to receive care safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively.

 Click through for more hospital at home considerations and lessons learned from the rise of ASCs.

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ABOUT THE CHARTIS GROUP

The Chartis Group® (Chartis) is a leading healthcare advisory services firm serving healthcare providers, payers, service organizations, and investors. Different by design, Chartis brings an unparalleled breadth and depth of expertise in strategy, performance improvement, digital and technology, clinical quality and patient safety, health equity and belonging, and strategic communications. For more information, visit www.chartis.com.

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