PODCAST | Discovery revives hospital-at-home care

Hospital care given in the home is the focus in this edition of the Business Day Spotlight. 

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Dr Botho Mhozya, head of health professional risk and hospital at home at Discovery Health. 

Earlier in the year, Discovery Health launched a service called Hospital at Home, which provides qualifying members with the option to receive hospital level home-based care instead of being admitted to a traditional hospital or after an early discharge from hospital for continuation of care in the home.

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Mhozya says the offering is a new take on an old concept, helped in large part by technology. 

More than a century ago, doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers would treat patients in their homes. But over time, the use of hospital wards — in part due to world wars and the rise of large corporate-run healthcare centres — has become a norm. 

The need for care outside hospitals has come to the fore in recent years, bolstered by the shortage of hospital beds experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Topics of discussion include: how hospital at home works; the business model behind the concept; reception from healthcare professionals and patients; Discovery’s technology investment behind the project; and the cost implications of such care.