Intermountain Health offers an innovative service that allows patients with qualifying acute or chronic conditions to receive hospital-level care in their own home, rather than in the hospital. The service is provided through in-person home visits and telehealth visits. This in-home service was recently expanded to serve patients in Utah County. A total of 10 Intermountain Hospitals now offer the program, from Logan to St. George.
The in-home service provides technology to remotely monitor vital signs, one or two home visits per day by Intermountain nurses, daily telehealth rounds by health care providers, and access to nurses and doctors on call 24 hours a day. Additionally, all medications and necessary equipment will be delivered to patients’ homes for the duration of the program.
Patients must meet certain clinical and non-clinical criteria and present through the emergency department or be admitted and eligible for early discharge.
“Before we started this program, our patients would often tell us they wanted to go home. They would recover faster when they were at home, it would be more comfortable, they could sleep in their own bed, but they would still receive hospital-level care,” said Dr. Andrew Noyce, a hospitalist at Intermountain Utah Valley Hospital.
“Families will not have to make multiple visits to the hospital, there will be less worry for children and pets, and patients with chronic illnesses will be able to stay out of hospital longer,” he added.
Types of conditions that can be treated through the residential program include pneumonia, COVID-19, congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Disease, pulmonary embolism, exacerbation of asthma, cellulitis, urinary tract infections, infections requiring intravenous antibiotics, dehydration, gastroenteritis.
Since the program began in Salt Lake County in 2020, Intermountain has safely and effectively treated 1,400 patients in their homes rather than keeping them in the hospital, and no safety issues have arisen with the program.
Intermountain can also save participating hospitals more than 4,000 bed days and, depending on the care needed, can reduce patients’ hospital stay costs by up to 30% over a traditional stay.
Caring for patients at home allows hospitals to free up more beds for more seriously ill patients.
“The goal of this program is to provide patients with the right level of care in the right location at a lower cost,” Noyce said.
Studies have shown that patients recover faster when treated at home. Healthcare professionals say visiting patients in their homes allows them to get to know them better. Patients at home are also more likely to follow health care professionals’ treatment instructions and take new medications, which can lead to higher treatment success rates.
To be eligible for the program, patients must have Select Health insurance (including Select Health commercial insurance), Medicaid, traditional Medicare, select Medicare Advantage plans, or be self-insured. Ask your provider if receiving hospital-level care at home is an option for your medical condition and whether it’s covered by your insurance. The program is administered by Intermountain’s population health organization, Castell. For more information, ask your provider or visit intermountainhealth.org.
