The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a report on the agency’s study of the Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCAH) initiative, which allows certain Medicare-certified hospitals to treat patients with inpatient-level care at home.
The study evaluates several aspects of the AHCAH initiative, including:
Criteria participating hospitals used to determine which individuals would qualify to receive services under AHCAH.
Demographic information on beneficiaries treated under the initiative.
Clinical conditions treated and diagnosis-related groups associated with discharges from the inpatient setting versus those under AHCAH.
Quality of patient care for those patients treated in the brick-and-mortar inpatient setting relative to patients with similar conditions and characteristics treated under AHCAH.
Beneficiary and caregiver experience with AHCAH.
Medicare spending and utilization for patients who received care in the inpatient setting and through AHCAH.
Quantity, mix, and intensity of services furnished through brick-and-mortar inpatient care relative to those served under the AHCAH initiative.
