Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40457942›Full record

ArticleJournal of telemedicine and telecare2026

The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a virtual Hospital in the Home service for COVID-19 infection: A cohort study and modelled decision analysis.

Linh K Vo, Michelle J Allen, Steven M McPhail, Shannon Wallis, Kelly McGowan, Kate Atkinson, Hannah E Carter

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of telemedicine and telecare, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Linh K VoAustralian Centre for Health Services Innovation, Centre for Healthcare Transformation, School of Social Work and Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-1874-7642
Michelle J AllenAustralian Centre for Health Services Innovation, Centre for Healthcare Transformation, School of Social Work and Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Australia.
Steven M McPhailAustralian Centre for Health Services Innovation, Centre for Healthcare Transformation, School of Social Work and Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Australia.
Shannon WallisPreventative and Prison Health Services, West Moreton Health, Ipswich, Australia.
Kelly McGowanPreventative and Prison Health Services, West Moreton Health, Ipswich, Australia.
Kate AtkinsonPreventative and Prison Health Services, West Moreton Health, Ipswich, Australia.
Hannah E CarterAustralian Centre for Health Services Innovation, Centre for Healthcare Transformation, School of Social Work and Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

IntroductionThis paper estimates the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a Hospital in the Home (HITH) service using virtual care technology to provide home-based care for COVID-19 patients with moderate symptoms in Queensland, Australia.MethodsA cohort study was conducted to analyse data of all patients admitted to the virtual COVID-19 HITH service between December 2021 and November 2022. A decision tree model was developed to compare of the cost-effectiveness of this service with a hypothetical usual care cohort admitted to a conventional physical ward from the perspective of the Australian health system. Comparator cohort data were sourced from published literature. Base-case analysis employed a 3-month time horizon with an additional lifetime scenario analysis. Quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were used as the measure of effectiveness. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the model.ResultsThe virtual COVID-19 HITH service saved 15,273 bed days. The cost-effectiveness analysis indicated the virtual COVID-19 HITH model was dominant, resulting in an additional 0.015 QALYs and a cost saving of $201 per patient compared to usual care. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was most sensitive to the cost of operating the virtual HITH. When all uncertainties were considered, there was 74% likelihood that the virtual HITH model of care was cost-effective, assuming a willingness to pay of $28,033/QALY.DiscussionHITH services incorporating virtual care modalities replicating the systems, staffing, and daily routines of a hospital ward are likely to be an effective and cost-effective intervention to expand inpatient care capacity.

Indexed as

COVID-19Home Care ServicesTelemedicineAgedCohort StudiesCost-Benefit AnalysisDecision Support TechniquesDecision TreesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedQuality-Adjusted Life YearsQueenslandSARS-CoV-2cost-effectivenessCOVID-19economic evaluationHospital in the Hometelehealth‌virtual ward

Identifiers

PMID40457942
PMCPMC13070132

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.