BACKGROUND: There is no widely accepted care model for managing high-need, high-cost (HNHC) patients. We hypothesized that a Home Heart Hospital (H3), which provides longitudinal, hospital-level at-home care, would improve care quality and reduce costs for HNHC patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate associations between enrollment in H3, which provides longitudinal, hospital-level at-home care, care quality, and costs for HNHC patients with CVD.
METHODS: This retrospective within-subject cohort study used insurance claims and electronic health records data to evaluate unadjusted and adjusted annualized hospitalization rates, total costs of care, part A costs, and mortality rates before, during, and following H3.
RESULTS: Ninety-four patients were enrolled in H3 between February 2019 and October 2021. Patients\' mean age was 75 years and 50% were female. Common comorbidities included congestive heart failure (50%), atrial fibrillation (37%), coronary artery disease (44%). Relative to pre-enrollment, enrollment in H3 was associated with significant reductions in annualized hospitalization rates (absolute reduction (AR): 2.4 hospitalizations/year, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: -0.8, -4.0; p < 0.001; total costs of care (AR: -$56 990, 95% CI: -$105 170, -$8810; p < 0.05; and part A costs (AR: -$78 210, 95% CI: -$114 770, -$41 640; p < 0.001). Annualized post-H3 total costs and part A costs were significantly lower than pre-enrollment costs (total costs of care: -$113 510, 95% CI: -$151 340, -$65 320; p < 0.001; part A costs: -$84 480, 95% CI: -$121 040, -$47 920; p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinal home-based care models hold promise for improving quality and reducing healthcare spending for HNHC patients with CVD.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol-related hospital admissions have doubled in the last ten years to > 1.2 m per year in England. High-need, high-cost (HNHC) alcohol-related frequent attenders (ARFA) are a relatively small subgroup of patients, having multiple admissions or attendances from alcohol during a short time period. This trial aims to test the effectiveness of an assertive outreach treatment (AOT) approach in improving clinical outcomes for ARFA, and reducing resource use in the acute setting.
METHODS: One hundred and sixty ARFA patients will be recruited and following baseline assessment, randomly assigned to AOT plus care as usual (CAU) or CAU alone in equal numbers. Baseline assessment includes alcohol consumption and related problems, physical and mental health comorbidity and health and social care service use in the previous 6 months using standard validated tools, plus a measure of resource use. Follow-up assessments at 6 and 12 months after randomization includes the same tools as baseline plus standard measure of patient satisfaction. Outcomes for CAU + AOT and CAU at 6 and 12 months will be compared, controlling for pre-specified baseline measures. Primary outcome will be percentage of days abstinent at 12 months. Secondary outcomes include emergency department (ED) attendance, number and length of hospital admissions, alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, other health service use, mental and physical comorbidity 6 and 12 months post intervention. Health economic analysis will estimate the economic impact of AOT from health, social care and societal perspectives and explore cost-effectiveness in terms of quality adjusted life years and alcohol consumption at 12-month follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS: AOT models piloted with alcohol dependent patients have demonstrated significant reductions in alcohol consumption and use of unplanned National Health Service (NHS) care, with increased engagement with alcohol treatment services, compared with patients receiving CAU. While AOT interventions are costlier per case than current standard care in the UK, the rationale for targeting HNHC ARFAs is because of their disproportionate contribution to overall alcohol burden on the NHS. No previous studies have evaluated the clinical and cost-effectiveness of AOT for HNHC ARFAs: this randomized controlled trial (RCT) targeting ARFAs across five South London NHS Trusts is the first.
BACKGROUND: International standard randomized controlled trial number (ISRCTN) registry: ISRCTN67000214, retrospectively registered 26/11/2016.