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Hospital at home: from international evidence to a China-oriented pathway—building an integrated hospital–community–home model for respiratory home hospitalization coordinated with cloud outpatient care, with evaluation of clinical safety, environment

Bai Chunxue*, Song Yuanlin, Yang Dawei 


Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China


[通讯作者]白春学,博士,主任医师、教授. E-mail: cxbai@fudan.edu.cn

[基金]四 大 慢 病 重 大 专 项(2024ZD0529300).

[收稿日期]2026-03-15  [接受日期]2026-03-29 [发表日期]2026-03-30


伦理声明 Not applicable. 

利益冲突 The author declares no competing  interests. 

作者贡献 Yuanlin Song, Dawei Yang and Chunxue Bai conceived the topic and overall framework of the manuscript, contributed to the conceptual development, interpretation of the literature, drafting and critical revision of the manuscript, and approved the final version for submission.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.61189/510826xogeww

Abstract

Objective To synthesize the international evidence, implementation models, and barriers related to Hospital at Home (HaH), and to propose a China-oriented pathway for respiratory HaH by integrating family bed services, internet hospitals, internet-based medical services, Internet Plus Nursing Services, and community health services. Contemporary evidence suggests that HaH has evolved beyond a simple substitute for inpatient admission and is increasingly understood as a composite model of hospital-level acute care delivered outside the hospital through remote monitoring, virtual review, in-home nursing, home-based treatment, and rapid escalation pathways. Methods This review draws on recent systematic reviews, randomized trials, real-world studies, implementation research, and national and local policy documents. The analysis focuses on conceptual boundaries, the international evidence base, key respiratory indications, digital infrastructure, nursing and community coordination, and multidimensional evaluation across clinical safety, environmental footprint, social benefit, and economic value. Results Among appropriately selected patients, HaH appears comparable or superior to conventional inpatient care with respect to mortality, readmission, patient experience, functional recovery, and some cost-related outcomes. Respiratory conditions, particularly post-exacerbation management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, home oxygen therapy, home noninvasive ventilation, post-pneumonia transitional care, and intensified post-discharge follow-up, represent high-priority and operationally feasible scenarios for HaH. China already has several institutional components relevant to HaH, including family bed services, internet hospitals, internet-based diagnosis and treatment, Internet Plus Nursing Services, and community health services. However, these components remain only partially connected and require specialty-led integration, digital coordination, nursing execution, and community continuity to form an operational, evaluable, and scalable pathway. Environmental gains should not be assumed; instead, transport, hospital bed utilization, household energy use, consumables, waste, and digital infrastructure should all be assessed within a full-pathway framework. Conclusions HaH has developed into a model of hospital-level care outside the hospital that integrates remote monitoring, virtual rounds, in-home nursing, home-based treatment, and rapid escalation and referral. For China, the key issue is not whether HaH is conceptually feasible, but how existing institutional mechanisms can be reorganized into an integrated hospital–community–home pathway for respiratory care. Future implementation should be evaluated across four domains: clinical safety, environmental footprint, social benefit, and economic value.

Keywords: hospital at home; home hospitalization; respiratory disease; family bed services; internet hospital; internet plus nursing services; environmental footprint; social benefit; economic value

Cite

Bai C X, Song Y L, Yang D W. Hospital at home: from international evidence to a China-oriented pathwaybuilding an integrated hospitalcommunityhome model for respiratory home hospitalization coordinated with cloud outpatient care, with  evaluation of clinical safety, environmental footprint, social benefit, and economic value[J]. Metaverse Med,2026,3(1):1-10.

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