Mayo Clinic's Advanced Care at Home is an innovative hospital-at-home program. It offers eligible people hospital-level care in the comfort of their own homes rather than in a traditional hospital setting. Health and safety are at the center of Advanced Care at Home. The program combines both virtual and in-home services to meet your individual needs.
People enrolled in the program receive hospital-quality services in the privacy of their homes. Examples are lab tests, mobile ultrasounds and X-rays, intravenous (IV) therapies, wound care, blood draws and medicine management. Other care services may include meal preparation and support from a social worker.
Advanced Care at Home is offered at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and Phoenix, Arizona, and at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Mayo Clinic has treated more than 5,500 people through this care model. Studies show that hospital-quality care at home reduces infections and falls, improves outcomes, and increases patient satisfaction while lowering hospital readmission rates.
Learn more about Mayo Clinic's Advanced Care at Home program in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Is Advanced Care at Home right for me?
Advanced Care at Home is a program for people who are sick enough to need hospital-level care but stable enough to be treated at home. This includes people with conditions such as heart failure, pneumonia, bronchitis or bloodstream infection. It's not for people who need surgery or advanced imaging tests such as CT scans or MRIs.
If you qualify for hospital-at-home care, you may benefit from:
- Spending less time in hospital care.
- Feeling less stress and anxiety by staying in your own home.
- Getting care services such as physical therapy or infusion therapy on a schedule that works for you.
If you want to learn more about the Advanced Care at Home program, talk with a care team member. If you qualify, you can decide if the program is right for you.
What factors should I consider?
Your healthcare professional will help you decide if the Advanced Care at Home program is a good fit. Here are some important things to consider:
- Your support at home. Do you have family, friends or caregivers who can help with daily tasks?
- Your availability. Can you schedule time for healthcare professionals to visit your home?
- Your comfort with technology. Are you willing to learn how to use a tablet to connect with your care team for virtual visits?
- Your health insurance. Does your insurance cover this type of care?
- Your distance from the hospital. Living close to a Mayo Clinic hospital is important in case you need emergency care.
Not all treatments and services are available at every Mayo Clinic location. Your care team will let you know what's offered near you.
What services are provided?
If you enroll in the hospital-at-home program, you will receive:
- 24/7 virtual care, including:
- Virtual visits with your care team.
- Remote monitoring of your vital signs.
- The ability to virtually connect with your care team anytime.
- In-person care from nurse practitioners or physician assistants, nurses, and community paramedics when needed.
- A care plan and schedule that fits your needs.
- Virtual visits with pharmacists to help you manage your medicines.
- Patient education tailored to your situation.
Other available services include:
- Physical, occupational and speech therapy.
- Intravenous (IV) infusion therapy.
- Lab tests.
- Meals and nutrition support.
- Mobile X-rays and ultrasounds.
- Counseling and emotional support.
- Help connecting with social services.
- Consults with specialists.
A team approach to personalized care
Mayo Clinic doctors lead your hospital-at-home care team. Other team members include nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, nurses, social workers and other healthcare professionals. You can call your care team anytime at the Advanced Care at Home command center. Team members will also visit your home as part of your care.
Setting up your equipment
Once you are enrolled in the Advanced Care at Home program, our community partners will come to your home to set up the equipment you need for virtual visits and remote monitoring. They also will teach you how to use the equipment. Your technology kit may include:
- A computer tablet for checking your daily schedule and starting video calls with your nurse.
- A blood pressure cuff for tracking your blood pressure.
- A scale for monitoring your weight.
- An oxygen monitor for measuring your oxygen levels.
- An emergency alert bracelet or necklace that calls 911 or local emergency help when activated.
- A direct-dial phone that connects you to the Advanced Care at Home command center.
- A Wi-Fi extender that improves wireless signal for remote monitoring.
- A backup power supply to keep your equipment running if the power goes out.
- Other equipment as needed.
What to expect during the program
When you are in a traditional hospital setting, you stay there until you are discharged. The same is true for the hospital-at-home program. We ask that you stay at home until your care is complete. Your medicines, supplies and other needed equipment will be delivered to you. You will have daily virtual visits with a Mayo Clinic doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant. You will have about four virtual check-ins a day with a nurse who will remind you to take your medicines, check your vital signs and ask you how you are feeling. If needed, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, community paramedics and other care team members will come to your home.
On your last day in the program, you will meet with your care team. They will review your medicines and any instructions for your care after your discharge. Team members will also take the equipment used during the program. Your team will share details of your hospital-at-home stay with your primary health professional and any specialists you usually see.
Costs and insurance
Most insurance plans cover hospital-at-home care like they would any inpatient hospital stay. Standard copayments, coinsurance, network restrictions and deductibles apply.