A nationwide snapshot of Hospital in the Home service provision in Australia

Hospital in the Home (HITH) has been formally recognised in Australia for more than 30 years and continues to expand nationally. Despite this growth, there is limited contemporary information regarding the structure, workforce, governance and models of care provided by Australian HITH services.

To provide a national description of public HITH services across Australia.

A national cross-sectional survey of Australian public HITH services was conducted between 1 October and 31 December 2024. A census approach was used to identify and survey all known public HITH services. Data relating to service characteristics, workforce, governance, activity, technologies and models of care were collected and analysed descriptively.

Of 164 Australian health services identified as providing HITH, 101 (62%) were represented in the study, corresponding to 84 discrete HITH services. HITH was most commonly delivered as an acute adult service (69/84, 82%), while acute paediatric HITH was less frequently available (23/84, 27%). HITH was delivered in every state and territory of Australia, predominantly in metropolitan areas (51/82, 62%). Workforce findings demonstrate strong alignment with internal medicine, but clinical governance and use of technology remain diverse.

This study provides the first comprehensive national description of public HITH services in Australia. Substantial variation exists in governance arrangements, workforce composition, models of care and technological capability, highlighting opportunities for greater national consistency and informing future policy, service planning and research.