Hospital-at-home for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation: Will it be an effective readmission avoidance model?

Objectives Hospital-at-home (HAH), a pioneering health care model, is an accepted alternative to hospital treatment for patients with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations. The aim of the present study was to analyze the effectiveness of HAH for patients with COPD exacerbations. Methods Two hundred six patients with COPD exacerbations who were admitted to our emergency room (ER) received the HAH model between January 2008 and March 2010. The number of patient's hospitalization, admission to emergency room, unscheduled outpatient attendance, and the length of stay in hospital (day) were recorded before and after a one-year period of HAH. Results After a one-year follow-up period of the HAH program, the number of patient who had hospitalization, admission to ER, unscheduled outpatient attendance rates was decreased 41.3%, 54.4%, 49.5% respectively. The decreases for all parameters were found to be statistically significant (P < 0.001). Additionally the total number of length of stay in hospital (day) after a one-year period after HAH was decreased (46.5%). Conclusion Integrated care services, including home care units where HAH models are performed, are necessary to improve the health of patients with COPD, as well as to better manage their condition in terms of disease burden. Physicians should consider this form of management, especially because there is increasing pressure on inpatient bed requirement in Turkey.