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. 2021 May;22(5):939-942.
doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2021.01.077. Epub 2021 Jan 31.

Hospital-at-Home Expands Hospital Capacity During COVID-19 Pandemic

Xavier Nogués  1 , Francisca Sánchez-Martinez  2 , Xavier Castells  3 , Adolfo Díez-Pérez  4 , Rosa Ana Sabaté  5 , Irene Petit  4 , Ariadna Brasé  4 , Juan Pablo Horcajada  6 , Roberto Güerri-Fernández  6 , Julio Pascual  7
Affiliations

Hospital-at-Home Expands Hospital Capacity During COVID-19 Pandemic

Xavier Nogués et al. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2021 May.

Abstract

A Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)-specific Hospital-at-Home was implemented in a 400-bed tertiary hospital in Barcelona, Spain. Senior or immune-compromised physicians oversaw patient care. The alternative to inpatient care more than doubled beds available for hospitalization and decreased the risk of transmission among patients and health care professionals. Mild cases from either the emergency department or after hospital discharge were deemed suitable for admission to the Hospital-at-Home. More than half of all patients had pneumonia. Standardized protocols and management criteria were provided. Only 6% of cases required referral for inpatient hospitalization. These results are promising and may provide valuable insight for centers undertaking Hospital-at-Home initiatives or in the case of new COVID-19 outbreaks.

Keywords: COVID-19; Hospital-at-Home; telemedicine.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Number of patients with COVID-19 infection admitted to the hospital between March 13 and May 13, 2020. Other facilities include a rehabilitation center, geriatrics center, and a medicalized hotel.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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