Hospital at Home: How Digital Health Is Transforming Hospital Care

by Ana Díaz-Roncero, Oct 28, 2026

Population ageing, the rising prevalence of chronic diseases and increasing pressure on healthcare services are driving the development of care models aimed at improving patient care and optimising healthcare resources. Among these is Hospital at Home (HaH), one of the care models explored in our article on liquid hospitals. 

According to the Spanish Ministry of Health, HaH enables hospital-level diagnostic procedures, treatments and care to be delivered in patients’ homes (intravenous treatments, nursing care or medical follow-up), provided that the patient’s clinical condition and home environment are suitable. This model offers an alternative to certain hospital admissions and facilitates early discharge. 

Although HaH has existed for decades, it gained renewed momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic, which accelerated the search for alternatives to conventional hospitalisation. At the same time, Digital Health has expanded its potential through new tools for patient monitoring and care coordination. 

• In the United States, the Acute Hospital Care at Home programme had enrolled 366 hospitals and provided care to more than 31,000 patients by October 2024. 
• In England, the National Health Service (NHS) has developed Virtual Wards, which combine multidisciplinary care teams with remote monitoring technologies, exceeding 12,000 virtual ward beds in 2025. 
• In Spain, according to the Spanish Society of Hospital at Home (SEHAD), 136 active HaH units were operating in 2025, while the Ministry of Health recorded 130,225 HaH episodes in 2022 and more than 1.4 million home care visits in 2023.

This expansion is supported by scientific evidence on its benefits. A 2024 Cochrane systematic review, including 20 clinical trials and 3,100 participants, concluded that admission-avoidance HaH probably results in similar mortality outcomes to conventional hospitalisation, while potentially offering benefits in patient satisfaction, remaining at home and healthcare costs. 

As mentioned above, Digital Health is contributing to the evolution of HaH by complementing in-person visits with remote monitoring, facilitating communication and improving care coordination. NHS England itself highlights the role of these tools in the development of Virtual Wards. 

Key applications include: 

• Remote monitoring and follow-up: connected devices enable the collection of vital signs, while digital platforms facilitate the collection of Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs), incorporating patient-reported information on symptoms and disease progression. 
• Personalised care: access to up-to-date clinical data and notification systems helps identify changes in patients’ conditions and prioritise interventions. 
• Organisation and efficiency: digital solutions facilitate visit scheduling, coordination among healthcare professionals and the management of care delivery. 

These applications are aligned with the Digital Health solutions we develop at Persei vivarium, which facilitate patient monitoring, the collection of patient-reported data and the management of clinical information, contributing to more connected and patient-centred care models. 

The future of Hospital at Home lies in combining in-person and digital care to improve continuity of care and move towards more flexible, personalised hospital care delivered closer to patients. 

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