Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association Fact Sheet: Hospital at Home & Mobile Integrated Health Programs in Massachusetts
Across Massachusetts, the state and federal Hospital at Home (HAH) program and the state Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) program are empowering hospitals to deliver safe, effective care in patients’ homes, enhancing the care experience while reducing costly and avoidable emergency department use and hospitalizations. These models are particularly beneficial in reaching older adults and individuals with complex needs or chronic health conditions.
State legislative action is now needed to ensure these innovative programs have the adequate insurance support they need to survive — and expand.
Hospital at Home programs allow people to receive acute inpatient-level care from the comfort of their own home. This can include services like daily in-person and virtual visits, remote vital sign monitoring, IV therapy, and other hospital-level interventions. Both in Massachusetts and across the nation, this approach has been shown to improve the patient experience, clinical outcomes, and costs. Hospital at Home services also help prevent emergency department visits and open up access to traditional hospital beds. Congress recently passed a five-year extension for the
Mobile Integrated Health allows providers to leverage mobile resources, including EMS, to deliver ongoing care to patients in a personalized environment outside of healthcare facilities. EMS professionals visit the patient’s residence, facilitate treatment, and connect patients virtually with their clinicians. These programs are especially effective for individuals with chronic conditions, for emergency department avoidance, and for follow-up and preventative care.MIH has been identified as an especially critical tool in our state’s efforts to address hospital capacity constraints and the inability to transfer patients out of acute care settings. What’s more, the state’s Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) studied MIH programs and found an almost non-existent cost impact for employers and consumers.
Massachusetts hospitals stood together at the State House recently to advocate for continued support of Hospital at Home and Mobile Integrated Health programs:
