Home Hospital Expands Access

The Home Hospital care team treats patients with a wide range of acute medical conditions that can be managed safely at home.

Healthcare is reviving a bygone tradition: house calls. Technology, patient preference, and other factors, including federal legislation set in motion during the COVID-19 pandemic, have spurred a surge in demand for delivering acute, hospital-grade care at home. 

Based on pilots started at the Brigham and Massachusetts General Hospital in 2016, Mass General Brigham (MGB) now has one of the largest acute home hospitals in the country. MGB Home Hospital delivers care for patients who would otherwise need to be hospitalized for conditions such as heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, infections, and more. Eligible patients receive daily visits from clinicians, 24/7 remote vital sign monitoring, and integrated teamwork through a sophisticated telehealth platform provided by Best Buy Health.  

MGB is partnering with Best Buy Health to customize systems and capabilities for Home Hospital patients beyond telehealth, such as remote patient monitoring. The system detects vital signs and falls, and triggers urgent response alerts to care teams, improving coordination among clinicians. Combined with multiple clinical visits each day, remote patient monitoring helps ensure patients are closely connected to the MGB Home Hospital team throughout their stay. 

“We’re incredibly proud of the impact the Home Hospital has had on our patients, as well as care teams across Mass General Brigham,” says Heather O’Sullivan, MS, RN, A-GNP, president of MGB’s Healthcare at Home. “This expansion is an exciting opportunity to grow capacity system-wide and provide greater access to our integrated, high-quality care to more patients in our surrounding communities.”

On average, patients in the MGB Home Hospital program:

  • Have a shorter length of stay
  • Need less physical therapy
  • Use less skilled nursing rehabilitation
  • Report greater satisfaction
  • Have better clinical outcomes
  • More easily transition to life after discharge