Virtual Home Hospitals allow us to meet the healthcare needs of more Albertans by reducing a patient's length of stay in a physical hospital or preventing admission to one by moving patient care into their home or other safe location they choose to receive care.
Virtual Home Hospital healthcare teams provide acute patient care through virtual care technologies (e.g., Zoom and digital remote patient monitoring) and in-person facility visits, if needed. This keeps patients and their Virtual Home Hospital care team connected throughout their care.
We also work closely with community healthcare providers, such as community paramedics and Home Care, to coordinate and deliver hands-on care in a patient's home, if they need it.
For information for Patients & Families, visit Virtual Home Hospital.
Care is provided by a multidisciplinary team that includes physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, community paramedics and other medical specialists or healthcare workers that a specific patient requires.
We work closely with other programs and teams across the healthcare system, including Home Care, Mobile Integrated Healthcare (community paramedics), Primary Care and other medical specialties to deliver care to patients.
Patients are monitored closely by the physician-supervised Virtual Home Hospital team through digital remote patient monitoring, using digital devices such as a blood pressure, pulse oximeter and heart rate monitor, weigh scale and thermometer. Some patients require more hands-on care in their home, while others can have most of the care managed virtually.
The scope of care available at a specific Virtual Home Hospital varies. Patients can be medical or surgical and they may require generalist or subspecialty care. Each Virtual Home Hospital, like a unit in our hospital facilities, cares for a certain scope of patients based on their diagnoses, clinical needs, attending physician groups and other variables.
Programs currently offered through Virtual Home Hospital:
Physicians play an important role in identifying patients who could be referred to a Virtual Home Hospital. Each of our Virtual Home Hospitals has developed patient criteria to assist physicians in determining if it is a good fit for a particular patient.
View the following Alberta Referral Directory listings to access a service overview, eligibility criteria, hours of operation and contact information for each Virtual Home Hospital to help support your referral.
See the Alberta Referral Directory for more information about referrals to a specific Virtual Home Hospital.
