‎A large proportion of hospital admissions , particularly for older patients , are made through emergency departments . Providing home - based care instead of admitting patients following an ED admission could help to avoid adverse events such as the contraction of hospital - acquired infections , delirium and falls . Research on emergency departments ' attitudes towards home - based care found that of 1,200 surveyed , 55 percent had ordered home - based care as an alternative to hospital admission in the prior 12 months , with the majority doing so less than once per month . Home - based care was considered a more optimum option for low - acuity chronic or acute disease exacerbation scenarios . However , alternatives to its provision included unsafe or unstable home environments . Conditions considered for home - based care included urinary tract infections , cellulitis , hospital - acquired pneumonia and diabetes . The study found that emergency department doctors saw a benefit to providing care at home , given that the setting was safe and a system for discharge was in place .
‎A large proportion of hospital admissions, particularly for older adults, are made through emergency departments. Providing home-based care instead of admitting patients following an ED admission could help to avoid adverse events such as the contraction of hospital-acquired infections, delirium and falls. Research on emergency physicians' attitudes towards home-based care found that of 1,200 surveyed, 55 percent had ordered home-based care as an alternative to hospital admission in the prior 12 months, with the majority doing so less than once per month. Home-based care was considered a more optimum setting for low-acuity chronic or acute disease exacerbation scenarios. However, barriers to its provision included unsafe or unstable home environments. Conditions considered for home-based care included urinary tract infections, cellulitis, community-acquired pneumonia and diabetes. The study found that emergency department doctors saw a benefit to providing care at home, given that the setting was safe and a system for discharge was in place.