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Cardinal Health at-Home Solutions plays an instrumental role in providing patients and caregivers critical tools they need for care in the home. This article is part of an ongoing series on the innovations, products and services the business delivers directly to patients’ doorsteps on behalf of its 5 million customers nationwide.

By Rob Schlissberg, president, Cardinal Health at-Home Solutions

Hospital-at-home programs have become a focal point in the healthcare landscape, offering a lifeline outside the traditional hospital setting to patients in need of acute care services for common conditions like cellulitis, pneumonia, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and urinary tract infections. Even though this model of care was first introduced in the 1960s, it didn’t really take off until we were faced with challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In November 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCaH) waiver program to help hospitals address capacity issues accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. At its core, the AHCaH waiver grants healthcare providers the flexibility to deliver a comprehensive range of acute care services in a patient’s home. This waiver has since prompted a reevaluation of existing models and policies, marking a pivotal shift in traditional healthcare delivery.

To quickly summarize, AHCaH waives certain Medicare requirements for payment, such as the need to provide 24/7 on-premises nursing services. A patient is evaluated for eligibility based on specific clinical and social criteria and must be admitted either directly through the emergency department or by being transferred in during a current inpatient admission. During a patient's enrollment in a hospital-at-home program, the patient is required to have a certain number of daily in-person visits, and hospitals must comply with a variety of other requirements to ensure care is appropriately coordinated.

CMS reports that, since the waiver took effect, it has enabled more than 331 hospitals across 136 health systems and 37 states to embrace hospital-at-home programs in the United States. We officially joined the hospital-at-home movement with the launch of our Velocare business in November 2022.

Velocare is a supply chain network and last-mile fulfilment solution, capable of reaching patients within two hours with critical supplies and services needed to support high-acuity care in the home. Through collaborative efforts with healthcare providers, industry innovators, policymakers, and more, we work diligently to ensure that patients have access to the care they need, when and where they need it most. In just this past fiscal year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024), we served more than 5,000 patients in 11 major metropolitan areas and realized a more than 760% increase in the number of monthly orders we receive for hospital-at-home admissions. You can read more about how Velocare works here.

As you can see, the industry has made substantial progress over the course of just a few years – yet Congress needs to act for hospital-at-home to continue. The ACHaH waiver is slated to expire on December 31, 2024. Bills to extend the program for this duration have advanced through both the House Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, but final passage will need to occur before the end of 2024.

At Cardinal Health, we are dedicated to driving positive change in healthcare delivery. We’re committed to driving hospital-at-home forward, recognizing its potential to transform the way we deliver acute care services.

As a company, we urge Congress to pass this legislation prior to the deadline.

We stand firmly with the hospitals and health systems that are lobbying for a minimum five-year extension of the AHCaH waiver program. Extending the program will help bolster hospital participation, enabling hospitals to initiate and establish their programs while gathering essential data to prove hospital-at-home’s long-term value in patient care.

It’s important to note that it’s not just hospitals that want hospital-at-home to continue. Patients want the option to receive this care in their homes too. A recent survey conducted by Vivalink, a digital healthcare solutions company that offers remote patient monitoring, reports that 84% of patients surveyed are likely to participate in hospital-at-home patient monitoring programs, citing convenience and comfort of home as the primary reasons for participating.

The impact of this type of care extends far beyond convenience. Hospital-at-home programs can help enhance patient outcomes and satisfaction. They can help reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections, promote faster recovery times and support a more comfortable healing environment. Additionally, hospital-at-home can help alleviate strain on hospital resources, optimize hospital bed utilization and potentially lower healthcare costs, as reported here in the Annals of Internal Medicine®. This care model not only meets patients’ clinical needs but also enhances overall efficiency. You can read more about these benefits in this article published in the Global Journal on Quality and Safety in Healthcare.

We are committed to seeing hospital-at-home through – we will continue to invest in this movement and in our own Velocare business. The AHCaH waiver represents a significant step forward in healthcare innovation. Its extension is not only essential for meeting the evolving needs of patients but also for advancing the broader goals of healthcare quality, equitable access and affordability. As we look to the future, Cardinal Health remains steadfast in our commitment to advocate for solutions that prioritize patient well-being and foster a more resilient healthcare system for all.

To learn more about Velocare, click here.