Meeting the demands of an aging population
An aging population is creating new challenges for healthcare. With more people living longer, healthcare systems are facing increased demands, leading to overcrowded hospitals, long wait times, and strained resources, causing a need to use resources more efficiently. Traditional inpatient care models are costly and require extensive infrastructure, staffing, and medical equipment. New care models must be developed to ensure quality care while not overloading resources. One of the most promising solutions to these challenges is the Hospital at Home (HaH) model, which brings acute care directly to patients in the comfort of their own homes.
What is Hospital at Home?
Unlike conventional home healthcare, which typically focuses on non-acute care, HaH provides hospital-level treatments for acute care such as infections, heart attacks, or post-surgery care. By having appropriate patients receive care in their homes, healthcare systems can reduce costs while maintaining patient outcomes. Patients receive continuous monitoring, timely interventions, and personalized care plans without the need for a prolonged hospital stay. HaH represents a significant shift in how care is delivered, moving beyond traditional inpatient settings to embrace a more flexible and patient-centered model.
Reducing costs and improving outcomes
HaH is already showing benefits in pilot projects in Sweden. In Region Skåne, the introduction of HaH led to a reduction in overall treatment cost of 20-50%, while the healthcare services company Capio saw a 20% decrease in costs. Both also achieved shortened hospital stays while improving patient satisfaction. Additionally, HaH has been shown to shorten the length of recovery compared to traditional hospitalization, allowing patients to recover faster and return to their daily routines sooner. For these benefits to be realized, innovative medtech solutions need to meet the unique demands of the home care setting.
Growing opportunities for medtech
To fully realize the benefits of the HaH model, the right technology is essential. This presents opportunities for medtech companies, who are positioned to lead the development of innovative solutions tailored to home settings. The success of this model relies on having easy-to-use, and scalable medical technologies that can integrate seamlessly into both the home environment and healthcare’s monitoring systems. Traditional hospital equipment can be too bulky or complex for home use, requiring redesigns that focus on portability and user-friendliness. Adaptations may be necessary to ensure usability for patients and their caregivers to monitor their diseases by themselves – for instance by measuring oxygen levels in the blood easily. This requires companies to design effective products while understanding the complex combination of product function and plug-and-play design while taking a foresighted approach in developing long-term solutions.
Further, the HaH ecosystem does not only surround the care itself but also relates to the care planning, initial setup, discharge, and follow-up after care is finished. The home environment presents unique challenges, from infection control and emergency response to logistical concerns such as medication management and equipment sanitization. All these factors need to be considered when either designing new or adapting existing products for HaH.
Looking ahead
Hospital at Home should not be viewed as merely a short-term money saving measure. Rather, it represents a fundamental shift in how healthcare is delivered. As healthcare systems continue to evolve, the medtech industry must rise to the occasion and play a vital role in driving innovation that ensures the success and scalability of HaH. Moving forward, the continued evolution of medtech innovations will be critical in enabling patient-centered solutions that will transform the healthcare landscape and reduce the strain on hospital systems.
Preben Andreassen, Senior Partner, NHG Sweden
preben.andreassen@nhg.se / +46 702 058 686
Amanda Antonsson, Analyst, NHG Sweden
amanda.antonsson@nhg.se