Emergency care at home to achieve home care

        The Ministry of Health and Welfare has been promoting the "Home Healthcare Integration Program" since 2016, encouraging physicians to step out of the clinic and into patients' homes to build a basic blueprint for home services. However, considering that the program still lacks supporting measures for emergency and critical care, the National Health Insurance Department will implement the "In Home Emergency Care Pilot Program" starting from July 2024. This issue introduces the target audience and conditions of the 'Legal Column' program, and invites everyone to learn about their own rights and interests together.

                According to the definition of the World Hospital at Home Congress, in home emergency care is "an acute medical service that typically provides personnel, equipment, technology, medication, and skills through hospitals to enable specific patients to receive hospital level treatment and care at home or in institutions

        Home emergency care has been recognized by the international medical system, which can reduce the burden of frequent hospital visits for emergency patients, and patients do not need to wait for hospital beds, thereby reducing the risk of cross infection. The latest plan of the National Health Insurance Administration is applicable to patients with pneumonia, urinary tract infections, soft tissue infections, etc. When the patient's condition is relatively stable and after evaluation, only antibiotics need to be administered to control the condition, and they can receive hospital replacement services directly at home.

        The team members of the 'Emergency Care Group at Home' usually include attending physicians, nursing staff, pharmacists, and respiratory therapists, and all relevant members must receive complete education and training. By conducting on-site visits, video diagnosis and treatment, remote monitoring, 24-hour consultation, medical evacuation, and long-term care referrals, we aim to enhance the overall quality of care. Patients not only have access to medical standards that are close to actual hospitalization, but also have varying levels of cost burden. Taking the medical expenses for pneumonia (9 days) as an example, traditional inpatient medical care costs about NTD 7720, while the in home emergency plan only costs NTD 2470.

        The purpose of in home emergency care is to "replace acute hospitalization and improve the quality of life of patients with hospitalization needs by changing hospital culture." Traditional inpatient care often forces people to interrupt their daily lives. However, when the emergency hospitalization scene shifts to people's own homes, care providers also expand from hospital staff to family members, home medical teams, long-term care teams, and community resources. The focus of treatment is no longer limited to "treating the disease" itself, but also extends to improving the quality of life.

        The implementation of the Home Emergency Care Program is now approaching one year. In response to public demand and following medical advice, the National Health Insurance Agency plans to expand the scope of indications from the second half of 2025, including home safety, heart failure, respiratory failure, chronic lung disease, dialysis, chemotherapy patients, etc. It is expected to sustainably strengthen vertical and referral cooperation among medical institutions at all levels, promote effective use of medical resources, and implement home care.

        Data source:

        1. Central Health Insurance Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare

        2. Official website of World Hospital at Home Congress

        3. Wu Jiazhen (March 18, 2025), "The new system of 'emergency care at home' has been implemented, allowing disabled elderly to be hospitalized at home without waiting for a hospital bed for three diseases! 《 Silver World 》

        *Image source: Freepik

        #