In the context of increasing demand for hospital beds, models of care that offer alternatives to a hospital stay for patients are of understandable interest.

The Bureau of Health Information (BHI) has undertaken work to provide new insights into the adoption and use of Hospital in the Home (HiTH) across NSW public hospitals. HiTH is a clinical model that provides acute or sub-acute care in a patient’s home or in the community, as a substitute for in-hospital care. It can be used to manage a range of conditions, most commonly including cellulitis, urinary tract infections and pneumonia.

HiTH has been used in NSW for more than 20 years with the implementation and delivery varying across different local health districts (LHDs) depending on local needs and resources.

The NSW Health Hospital in the Home (HITH) Guideline, released in 2013, was developed to provide clear, standardised guidance about HiTH to LHDs. This guidance was updated in 2018 with the publication of the Adult and Paediatric Hospital in the Home Guideline, which provided further practical advice around the implementation of HiTH services.

At the time of writing, uptake of HiTH services varies across LHDs. Analyses undertaken by BHI as part of our Healthcare Quarterly Special Reporting showed that in January to March 2024, the percentage of all episodes of care with HiTH use ranged from 0.0% to 4.4% across LHDs (see the figure below). This variation suggests there are potential opportunities for increasing uptake of HiTH services across NSW.

Read more about the adoption and use of HiTH in NSW in the Special Reporting section of Healthcare Quarterly, January to March 2024 which is now available here .