Hospital-at-home may have sounded like an impossible concept just a few years ago. For many people outside of healthcare, it still might. But Massachusetts hospitals, which have launched highly successful home-based programs virtually from scratch since the pandemic began, are now sharing their successes and advocating for policies that support those programs’ long-term sustainability.

Mass General Brigham’s home-hospital program was profiled in The Wall Street Journal this week (login required). The piece included accounts from MGB patients who had received kidney condition treatment, lab tests, and chronic disease management at their residence.

The story reads in part:

Mass General Brigham says it makes cautious changes when necessary to address issues or make improvements in its program. It collects and analyzes quality and safety data for its home-hospital patients and compares results to similar patients treated in hospitals when possible, the system said.

Overall, participating hospitals say home-based medical care is safe and more comfortable for patients, and it opens hospital beds, helping to ease severe emergency-room crowding in some cities.

The piece also described the lack of reimbursement and regulatory structure that are currently complicating hospital-at-home’s prospects moving forward. MHA and the American Hospital Association continue to advocate for reforms that would sure up innovative approaches to care — such as home-based services, telehealth, and mobile integrated health — that can lower costs, broaden patient access, and bring more convenience to the delivery system.