Safety and implementation of a regional hospital-at-home model: a retrospective observational study from Denmark.

Authors

Mai-Britt Hägi-Pedersen, Stig Nikolaj Blomberg, Ole Mazur Hendriksen, Ihab Ibrahim Rassoul Al-Janaby, Helle Collatz Christensen

Published in

BMC health services research. Volume 26. Issue 1. Jul 24, 2026. Epub Jul 24, 2026.

Abstract

To describe the patient population, care pathways, and short-term safety outcomes of a regional hospital-at-home model in Region Zealand, Denmark, between 2022 and 2024, and to explore variation in outcomes by diagnosis and referral source.
Retrospective observational study using registry-based data and internal monitoring records.
A publicly funded, cross-sectoral hospital-at-home service coordinated centrally and delivered via municipal nurses and mobile treatment units.
We included 2,511 patients with a median age of 72 years (IQR 60-80). Patients generally presented with substantial comorbidity and represented a broad, clinically diverse population.
Length of stay, unplanned hospital contacts during treatment or within 24 h after planned completion, 30-day readmissions, and 30-day survival.
The median length of stay increased from 5.1 days in 2022 to 7.3 days in 2024. Rates of unplanned hospital contacts remained stable (27.0-31.1%), whereas 30-day readmission rates declined from 11.0% to 7.0% over the study period. Thirty-day survival remained consistently high (91.6-92.4%). Infectious diseases were the most frequent diagnostic category (43-47%). Outcomes varied by diagnosis and referral source, with longer treatment durations observed among patients with orthopaedic and chronic conditions.
Hospital-level care delivered in patients' homes was implemented on a regional scale with acceptable short-term outcomes across a clinically complex and socially diverse patient population, including individuals living alone. The variation in outcomes across diagnostic groups underscores the importance of flexible, diagnosis-informed care pathways and structured cross-sectoral organisation in hospital-at-home models.
Not applicable.

PMID:
42902350
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 21 Oct 2026.

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