Hospital in the Home (HITH) Brochure
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The RMH@Home service provides inpatient acute and subacute care for patients in their home environment. It is a comfortable, safe and efficient substitution for in-hospital care for a wide range of conditions.
RMH@Home is the provision of hospital care in the comfort of the person's own home.. Previously known as Hospital in the Home (HITH) and Rehabilitation in the Home (RITH), these services have now joined to deliver inpatient hospital care at home.
Patients are regarded as hospital inpatients and remain under the care of a treating hospital team, receiving the same treatment considerations as they would staying in hospital. A 'home' could be the patient's own house, a hotel, a residential aged care facility or a family member’s or friend’s home.
The RMH@Home team works closely with the referring patient's medical unit, patient and relevant carers or family members, and community healthcare providers to develop a realistic plan of treatment and care of the patient in their home. The RMH@Home team provide acute and subacute care in the home via medical and nursing reviews in the home, 24 hour / daily phone support, medication administration, education and advice for the patient and their carer. Discharge planning is also implemented in consultation with the referring unit, GP and appropriate community based services. There is no cost to patients for receiving RMH@Home care.
RMH@Home acute care includes:
- intravenous infusions including short and long-term antibiotics
- fluid status optimisation eg management of congestive cardiac failure exacerbations, and provision of infusion support with acute kidney injury
- anticoagulant therapy
- post-surgical wound and anticoagulation management
- complex wound dressings
- diabetes management and BGL stabilisation
- short-term oxygen titration and respiratory support post pneumonia
RMH@Home subacute care includes:
- review by a multidisciplinary team including geriatrician, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietician, social worker and speech therapy as required.
- daily home based visits over a 2 to 3 week length of stay
- patient centred, goal based therapy
- Geriatric Evaluation and Management (GEM)
- rehabilitation following fracture, orthopaedic surgery or acute medical illness/event
- falls assessment and management
- reconditioning following an acute exacerbation of a chronic illness
Eligibility
Patients must meet the following criteria in order to be considered eligible for RMH@Home:
- they require acute or subacute in-patient services but are medically stable enough to be treated at home
- the patient lives within the RMH catchment area (refer to the map below). RMH@Home Acute inpatients might reside further away, with joint management by a local health service provider.
- a good support network (family / carer) is available for the patient
- their home is suitable (a routine risk assessment is carried out with all patients)
- the patient has access to a phone
- there is a medical request / approval for transfer
- there is a clear end date for the proposed treatment
- the patient consents to participate in the program
RMH@Home supports a variety of diagnoses and treatment at home.
Special referral instructions
For more information about referrals, contact the RMH@Home Coordinator.