Hospital-At-Home: Understanding the Impact on Nurses and Nursing Education

Hospital-At-Home: Understanding the Impact on Nurses and Nursing Education

In recent times, the concept of hospital-at-home treatments has gained prominence due to its potential to enhance health outcomes while reducing expenses. This article delves into the significance of hospital-at-home for nurses and nursing careers.

Hospital-At-Home: Benefits and Changing Care Models

Hospital-at-home services offer a range of advantages, including cost reduction, improved outcomes, alleviating hospital congestion, and enhanced patient satisfaction. Existing healthcare models are evolving to integrate hospital-at-home practices. The nursing community plays a pivotal role in shaping the most effective hospital-at-home models for both nurses and patients.

Economic and Health Gains

Hospital-at-home programs hold the potential to cut healthcare costs by approximately 30%, leading to improved outcomes. Particularly beneficial for patients susceptible to hospital-acquired infections or those who find hospital settings stressful, a survey conducted in 2022 revealed that 80% of hospitals have plans to provide hospital-at-home services.

Understanding Hospital-At-Home and Nursing Involvement

Hospital-at-home involves delivering medical care to patients requiring professional attention and monitoring, without their physical presence in a hospital. Instances include recovery from procedures, accidents, or conditions such as dehydration, deep-vein thrombosis, or urinary tract infections.

While the technology for hospital-at-home care is available for various conditions, regulations and payment systems are lagging behind, hindering full-scale adoption. Nonetheless, numerous hospitals and emerging service providers are embracing hospital-at-home services. The associated benefits encompass:

– Reduced care expenses due to shorter hospital stays
– Enhanced convenience for patient visitors
– Greater patient and family satisfaction
– Mitigated risk of hospital-acquired infections and other hazards
– Compliance with cultural or religious dietary preferences
– Reduced distress for patients with mental health issues who struggle outside their home environment
– Lower levels of patient depression and anxiety

Impact on Nursing

Nurses can employ technology to continually monitor and communicate with patients, checking vital signs, addressing queries, or instructing home health aides, family members, friends, or others in delivering necessary care. The potential for growth in home nursing positions is foreseeable, requiring nurses to travel for initial setup or follow-up visits.

Hospital-at-home’s potential to shorten hospital stays could contribute to addressing nurse burnout. However, the emotional and psychological dimensions of providing remote nursing care remain uncertain.

Future Role of Nurses

Hospital-at-home’s implications for nurses extend to potential changes in the industry’s landscape. This might involve increased venture capital participation in establishing new hospital-at-home service providers. Predictions indicate a 47% global compound annual growth rate for hospital-at-home from 2023 to 2031. Venture capital investments in digital health have surged, which could potentially shift the nursing culture.

Nurse Engagement in Hospital-At-Home

Expanding hospital-at-home models present challenges in scaling. These encompass building a substantial patient base to ensure program sustainability, delivering on cost-saving promises, and referring the appropriate patients to hospital-at-home care. Successful collaboration among U.S. hospitals, payers, legislators, and clinicians could lead to benefits for patients and nurses.

Nurse leaders can significantly contribute by representing nursing in discussions regarding hospital-at-home services, advocating for patients’ interests and equal access to such care. Preparation for this potential future involves:

– Nurses initiating discussions on hospital-at-home’s impact with staff, administration, and nursing associations
– Advocacy for nurses and patients during policy and procedure development by government agencies and payers
– Nurse educators identifying new learning needs and creating resources for practicing nurses, continued education, and updated nursing curricula
– Nurse researchers studying outcomes and formulating evidence-based care standards
– Clinical nurse specialists identifying effective approaches for hospital-at-home nursing

Myths About Seeing a Nurse Practitioner vs. a Doctor

Embracing the Potential

Hospital-at-home presents nurses with substantial prospects. By addressing challenges like overwork and burnout, it offers improved patient experiences, reduced stress for nurses, and cost-efficient care that could translate into better compensation for nurses. Active participation by nurses in shaping the future of hospital-at-home is crucial for realizing these benefits.

Sources:
– Arsenault-Lapierre, G et al. Hospital-at-Home Interventions vs In-Hospital Stay for Patients With Chronic Disease Who Present to the Emergency Department. (2021). JAMA Network
– Bestsennyy, O et al. From facility to home: How healthcare could shift by 2025. (2023). McKinsey & Company
– Global Hospital-at-Home Market Research Report. (2022). InsightAce Analytic
– Klein S. “Hospital at Home” Programs Improve Outcomes, Lower Costs But Face Resistance from Providers and Payers. (2023). The Commonwealth Fund
– Krumholz, Harlan. Post-Hospital Syndrome — An Acquired, Transient Condition of Generalized Risk. (2013). The New England Journal of Medicine
– Pelizzari, P et al. Hospital At Home Is Not Just For Hospitals. (2022). Health Affairs
– Why Hospital at Home, and Why Now? Lessons Learned from the Rise of Ambulatory Surgery. (2022). Chartis