Practice of Home Medical Care Carried Out by a Community-based University Hospital

Abstract

Our hospital, a 923-bed capacity university hospital located in a large city, is responsible for both advanced acute medical care and regional medical support. Many patients are highly dependent on medical care, and a home medical care department was established in 2018 to provide medical care not only during hospitalization but also at home. Doctors in our general medicine department concurrently work in the home medical department. We report on progress achieved within five years in which we have been working with nursing staff and clerical workers. For inpatients or outpatients at our hospital, we consider not only physical factors, such as diseases and comorbidities, but also various situations, such as recuperation environment and the need for nursing care. Additionally, doctors in the general medicine department conduct regular home visits during the day based on requests from the main department, which provides emergency care at night and on holidays. Home-visit nursing has been practiced for a long time and has played a role in returning unstable patients to a stable condition immediately after discharge from the hospital. Even though our facility is a university hospital, we have the flexibility to go out to the community, and as a medical education institution, medical students and initial resident physicians accompany us to experience home medical care; this will contribute to human resource development that will support future medical care.