Patients’ and family caregivers’ experiences with a newly implemented hospital at home program in British Columbia, Canada: Preliminary results

Authors

Sean P. Spina BSc(Pharm), ACPR, PharmD, FCSHP, Island Health, UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Health Information ScienceFollow
Rounak Haddadi BSc, BHSc, PG Dip Sc, Island HealthFollow
Katy Mukai BA, MPA, Island HealthFollow
Michelle Riddle, Island HealthFollow
Beth Bourke BScN, RN, Patient PartnerFollow
Lisa Thompson BSc, Patient PartnerFollow
Elizabeth Borycki RN, PhD, FACMI, FCAHS, FIAHSI, School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research BCFollow
David Forbes BSc(Pharm), MPA, ACPR, BCPS, CTE, Island HealthFollow
Taylor Hainstock BHSc, MA, BC SUPPORT Unit Vancouver Island Centre, Island HealthFollow
Curtis K. Harder BSc(Pharm), ACPR, PharmD, FCSHP, Island Health, UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical SciencesFollow
Nancy Humber BSC, MD, CCFP, CFPC, MHA, FFRMS, Clinical Associate Professor UBC, HospitalistFollow
Andre Kushniruk PhD, FACMI, FCAHS, FIAHSI, School of Health Information Science, University of VictoriaFollow
Tara McMillan BSc, BC SUPPORT Unit Vancouver Island Centre, Island HealthFollow
Shauna Tierney MD, CCFP, HospitalistFollow
Melinda Zeron Mullins MD, PhD, CCFP, HospitalistFollow

Abstract

The Hospital at Home (HaH) model of care, which enables the provision of acute-level care in the patient’s own home as an alternative to brick and mortar hospital admission, was introduced in British Columbia, Canada in November 2020, starting with 9 inpatient “beds” in the community. The AT-HOME research group applied a patient-oriented approach to evaluate the patients’ and family caregivers’ (FCGs) experiences with the program as it was implemented and expanded throughout Victoria, BC. In this paper, we discuss the development of the survey instruments, including process and timelines (three phases); and present preliminary findings of the observational research study (six months of patient and FCG feedback data). The preliminary results show that 100% of patients (n=75) and 95% of FCGs (n=57) had an overall positive experience with the program (rated 6-10 on a 10-point scale where 0 meant ‘very poor’ and 10 ‘very good’). 100% of these patients and 96% of these FCGs would recommend the program to their friends and family and 97% of these patients and 96% of these FCGs would choose the program again if faced with the same situation. The preliminary results on metrics pertaining to care quality; information sharing and experiences with the admission and discharge processes; FCG’s roles, medication management, and more are discussed here. The final results of the patient and FCG experiences will be reported at the end of the data collection period. We can conclude that this new HaH program has been positively received by patients and FCGs thus far and they support program expansion

Experience Framework

This article is associated with the Innovation & Technology lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework (https://www.theberylinstitute.org/ExperienceFramework).

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Recommended Citation

Spina SP, Haddadi R, Mukai K, Riddle M, Bourke B, Thompson L, Borycki E, Forbes D, Hainstock T, Harder CK, Humber N, Kushniruk A, McMillan T, Tierney S, Zeron Mullins M. Patients’ and family caregivers’ experiences with a newly implemented hospital at home program in British Columbia, Canada: Preliminary results. Patient Experience Journal. 2023; 10(1):93-106. doi: 10.35680/2372-0247.1735.

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