Los Angeles General Medical Center's home-based care program has cut patient stays by at least three days per patient, compared to the typical stay of around five days, LA Times reported May 5.
The program, dubbed "Safer at Home," launched during the pandemic and has seen at least 556 patients with 37 different diagnoses participate.
The home-based care program has been able to cut down emergency department stays, avoid hospital stay admissions altogether and has been able to discharge patients much earlier, according to Brad Spellberg, MD, chief medical officer of Los Angeles General Medical Center.
"What this is, is concierge-level medicine, which is what rich people are accustomed to getting, but instead we're giving it to the patients coming to L.A. General, both because it's safer for the patients to not have to be in the hospital and it's a much more patient-centered experience," Dr. Spellberg told the LA Times.
Safer at Home primarily serves patients with 10 different diagnoses, such as kidney infections, congestive heart failure and asthma, but will soon expand to 20 diagnoses.
The program is also covered by the hospital with no additional cost to the patient and sends every patient home with a pre-programmed cell phone so they can communicate with their care teams remotely.
Los Angeles General Medical Center said it has not seen any negatives with the program, only positives, as it has been able to achieve a readmission rate that is "significantly lower" than the rate for all other discharges from the hospital.