Planning and clinical role of acute medical home care services for COVID‐19: consensus position statement by the Hospital‐in‐the‐Home Society Australasia.

During a pandemic when hospitals are stretched and patients need isolation, the role of hospital‐in‐the‐home (HITH) providing acute medical care at home has never been more relevant. We aimed to define and address the challenges to acute home care services posed by the COVID‐19 pandemic. Planning for service operation involves staffing, equipment availability and cleaning, upskilling in telehealth and communication. Planning for clinical care involves maximising cohorts of patients without COVID‐19 and new clinical pathways for patients with COVID‐19. The risk of SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission, specific COVID‐19 clinical pathways and the well‐being of patients and staff should be addressed in advance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]