Hospital at Home—A Conversation with Dr. Bruce Leff
- Dr. Warren Wong
- Nov 5, 2024
- 2 min read
Outside of being a good friend and colleague, Dr. Bruce Leff is someone I greatly admire. Dr. Leff is a Professor of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Health Policy and Management in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Department of Community and Public Health in the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing (read more here).
Decades ago, Dr. Leff realized that hospitalizations of older adults could cause more harm than good and wanted to work out a way to bring hospital services to the homes of older patients. In my conversation with Dr. Leff, we discuss the groundbreaking concept of "Hospital at Home." He explains how this model aims to provide hospital-level care in patients' own homes, offering a compelling alternative to traditional hospitalization. You'll learn about:
The origins of the Hospital at Home concept;
Its potential benefits for older patients;
How it can reduce complications associated with hospital stays; and
The importance of personalized care from trusted healthcare providers.
See my conversation with Dr. Leff below to better understand how he came to that conclusion.
Following that discussion, I talked with Dr. Leff about how Hospital at Home works. In our discussion, you’ll learn that:
Hospital at home is meant for patients needing hospital-level care but not intensive care;
Many different hospital services and equipment can be set up in your home, with constant access to medical staff being available through phone and video chats;
The rate of patients needing to return to the hospital is quite low; and
Hospital at Home allows doctors to better understand a patient’s home environment, improving care.
You can see his full explanation below.
Hospital at Home is rapidly expanding but is still not available in most areas of the country. However, you can find a list of the current healthcare systems that offer Hospital at Home programs here:
If you want to learn more, you can find some sample case studies of Hospital at Home below.
Warmest Aloha,
Dr. Warren Wong
PS: I say it over and over again: There's no one more important than the caregiver in the daily life of a frail person.
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