DELIVERY OF TRADITIONAL HOSPITAL SERVICES TO PATIENTS AT HOME

The high cost of traditional inpatient care, advances in the delivery of depot antibiotics and narcotics, and the demands of patients for re alistic alternatives to frequent hospitalisation have led to programs for the provision of acute hospital care in the home. We review the pr ogress of overseas hospital-in-the-home programs and the issues that s uch service delivery has raised for clinicians and administrators. The potential application in Australia is examined and priorities for pre parative research are suggested. It seems inevitable that for a select number of conditions in a select group of patients, home hospital ser vices will become a reality in this country.