Brigham and Women's and Biofourmis Codevelop Home Hospital Technology

Now that CMS will pay for home hospital care, Brigham and Women's and other pioneering providers are pushing forward with this care in part to help with the crush of COVID-19 patients. In November, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services took several new steps to help U.S. hospitals manage the crush of new patients as the COVID-19 crisis worsens. Among them were new allowances for telehealth and remote monitoring, for what CMS is calling the Acute Hospital Care at Home program.

Additionally, the agency expanded its Hospitals Without Walls initiative, with even more regulatory flexibility for ambulatory surgery centers to provide care as a "relief valve" to help overburdened hospitals. Simply put, home hospital involves delivering hospital-level care at home instead of in the hospital, said Dr. David Levine, assistant professor of medicine and medical director of strategy and innovation for Brigham Health Home Hospital at Brigham and Women's Hospital.