Meta Analysis of Hospital in the Home

A meta-analysis of “hospital in the home” has been published this month in the Medical Journal of Australia by Caplan and others.  The paper analysed 61 randomised controlled trials comparing HITH care with in-hospital treatment for patients over 16 years of age. The authors report that HITH care led to reduced mortality, readmission rates and cost and that patient satisfaction was higher in HITH in 21 of 22 studies, and carer satisfaction was higher in six of eight studies where this was examined.

Medical Journal of Australia 2012;197(9):518-519. (Open access)