A newly expanded innovative service from Intermountain Health is allowing patients with qualifying acute or chronic conditions to receive hospital-level care in their home, rather than in the hospital. This in-home service has just recently expanded to serve patients in Utah County and is provided through in-person home visits and telehealth visits. There are now 10 Intermountain hospitals from Logan to St. George that offer the program.
The in-home service provides the technology to monitor vital signs remotely and offers once or twice daily in-home nurse visits from an Intermountain nurse, daily telehealth rounding by a medical provider, and access to 24-hour on-call nurses and physicians. Additionally, all medications and necessary equipment are delivered to the patient’s home throughout their stay on the program.
Patients must meet specific clinical and non-clinical criteria and come in through an emergency department visit or have been admitted to the hospital and qualify for early transfer home.
“Before we had this program, I would often hear from my hospital patients that they’d like to go home. Being at home helps people heal faster. They are more comfortable, and can sleep in their own bed, but they still get hospital-level care,” said Dr. Andrew Noyce, DO, a hospitalist at Intermountain Utah Valley Hospital.
“Their family doesn’t have to travel back and forth to the hospital to visit them. They’re less worried about their kids or pets. And it can help patients with chronic conditions stay out of the hospital longer,” he added.
The types of medical conditions that can typically be treated through the at-home program include pneumonia, COVID-19, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary embolism, asthma exacerbation, cellulitis, urinary tract infections, infections requiring IV antibiotics, dehydration and gastroenteritis.
Since the program began in Salt Lake County in 2020, Intermountain has safely and effectively treated 1,400 patients at home, rather than keeping them in the hospital. The program has had zero safety events.
And it has saved Intermountain over 4,000 bed days from participating hospitals and can cost patients up to 30% less than traditional hospital stays, depending on the care needed.
Caring for patients at home allows hospitals to have more beds available for sicker patients.
“The goal of the program is to be able to offer patients the right level of care in the right place at a lower cost,” said Dr. Noyce.
Research shows that patients heal better in their homes. Providers say they learn more about their patients by visiting them at home. There’s also a higher success rate for at-home patients as they can be more likely to follow a provider’s care instructions or adhere to new medications.
To be eligible for the program, patients can have Select Health insurance (including Select Health commercial), Medicaid, traditional Medicare, some Medicare Advantage plans or be self-pay. Ask your provider if receiving hospital-level care at home is an option for your condition and check with your insurance to see if it’s covered. The program is administered by Castell, Intermountain’s population health entity. For more information talk to your provider or visit intermountainhealth.org.
For up-to-date information and announcements please see the Intermountain Health newsroom at https://news.intermountainhealth.org.
About Intermountain Health
Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 34 hospitals, 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For more information or updates, see https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.
