June 25, 2020 / ALEX KACIK
Mayo Clinic has partnered with Medically Home to launch a hospital-at-home model that they plan to scale across the country.
The Rochester, Minn.-based health system has built on Boston-based Medically Home’s technology and network of in-home services, and paired it with its clinical expertise and integrated model. The aim is to deliver more affordable and efficient high-acuity care to patients typically bound to the hospital for infusions, skilled nursing, lab and imaging work, and behavioral counseling, among other services. They plan to partner with community organizations and regional suppliers to round out their staffing and supply chain needs, some of which are as basic as reliable WiFi connections needed to relay vital signs. 
Over the short term, moving patients from the hospital to their homes will free up space for COVID-19 and other intensive care cases as well as ease the burden on long-term care providers, said Dr. John Halamka, an emergency medicine physician and president of Mayo Clinic Platform, which oversees a range of ventures involving artificial intelligence, language processing and connected healthcare devices. Over the long term, a widely adopted hospital-at-home model could significantly lower costs and boost quality, he said.