At Becker’s recent Digital Innovation + Patient Experience and Marketing virtual event, Hemali Sudhalkar, MD, national medical director of strategy for Kaiser Permanente Care at Home, joined industry experts to discuss the present and future of advanced home care programs. As traditional traditional care gives way to innovative, patient-centered models, Dr. Sudhalkar discussed what it takes to launch a program that works.
Keys to success
For Dr. Sudhalkar, success begins with alignment. “In a value based system Like ours, incentives are aligned to improve care and outcomes,” he said. That alignment allows for significant investment in innovations that bring high-quality care directly to patients’ homes.
History related to advanced home care: Innovative hospital-at-home model boosts physician engagement
Dr. Sudhalkar also points out three keys that helped the Kaiser Permanente program emerge as a powerful model for improving qualitypatient experience and physician engagement. First is the infrastructure. “If it doesn’t scale, it will fail,” he said, emphasizing the need to invest in both people and structure to ensure the program’s growth. Second is communication and cultural change. Educating patients and their families about advanced home care is essential, but so is involving doctors and clinicians. “We are asking [physicians and care teams] “The third key is flexibility. Unlike traditional hospitals, where change can be more difficult and slower to implement, home-based programs must be willing to evolve, adapt and innovate at a faster pace.
Challenges and the road ahead
Dr. Sudhalkar is candid about the obstacles that remain, including regulatory instability and uncertainty in payment models. Another concern is persistent cultural resistance among some doctors and clinicians, but for others, especially those suffering from burnout, advanced home care provides a meaningful new way to practice medicine. They gain a deeper understanding of patients’ daily lives: what they eat, the medications and supplements they use, and the environment that shapes their health. This idea supports a truly holistic approach to care.
History related to advanced home care: Kaiser Permanente among the best home hospital care programs
Meanwhile, patients overwhelmingly embrace the model. “How great for patients to be in their own bed, with their own pets, surrounded by comfort,” says Dr. Sudhalkar. The survey results confirm this: advanced home care scores at least 10 points higher than traditional hospital settings in terms of patient experience.
Looking ahead, Dr Sudhalkar foresees a fundamental change in the hospital landscape. “In the next five to ten years, hospitals will mainly be emergency rooms, operating rooms and ICUs,” he predicts. “[Advanced care at home] It is the future of healthcare. “Our patients love it and, with the right investment and promotion, it will become a central part of the way we provide care.”
