“Hospital at home” care shows similar mortality and subsequent hospital admissions to hospital care for older patients with acutely decompensated chronic heart failure
- Sue Ashby
Keele University School of Nursing and Midwifery, Clinical Education Centre, University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust, City General, Newcastle Road, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 6QG, UK; s.m.ashby{at}nur.keele.ac.uk
Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalisation and readmission in many hospitals worldwide and is a major contributor to healthcare costs.1 Several studies have identified that specific heart failure service provision in the home setting significantly decreases hospital readmissions and improves quality of life.1 Studies have focused mainly on surveillance following acute hospital discharge to reduce unplanned hospital admission. Recent studies have explored the feasibility of hospital at home services that provide acute hospital-level care as a substitute for treatment in an acute hospital setting.2 This pilot study by Tibaldi and colleagues is one of a small number of studies specifically investigating hospital at home in relation to older patients with chronic heart failure …
