About Patient@home

Why Patient@home?

Denmark's demographic and general health status is changing. Experts suggest that due to a changing age structure in the coming years the number of patients needing care and treatment will increase - especially the number of Danish citizens above the age of 64 is rising, while the labour force available is decreasing. Furthermore, the amount of Danish citizens with chronic diseases as diabetes and heart/vascular diseases is also increasing - and the picture is the same in many other parts of the world.

This development puts a lot of pressure on the health sector, which, if continuing using the current methods and procedures, will have to deal with a soaring number of tasks with less staff at hand, as well as a need for more beds and thus far more resources.

Welfare technology can specifically support patients and reduce pressures on the health sector in three different areas: (1) before hospitalization or outpatient treatments at the hospital - observation, for example, of the citizen's physical condition; (2) during treatment in preparation for discharge from the hospital to the patient's home; (3) after early discharge or outpatient care - continuous observation, for example, of health as well as support in terms of rehabilitation. The effects of technological support may be successful pre-hospital treatments that reduce or even prevent hospitalizations. At the same time accelerated patient courses may shorten the time of hospitalisations; in addition, good and targeted treatments in the patients' own homes can help minimize the number of readmissions.

Focusing on treatment, care, observation and rehabilitation in the patients' own homes, Patient@home aims to support and develop new welfare technologies to boost both pre-hospital treatments and early discharges.