Hospital-level care delivered safely in patients’ homes
Recovering after a hospital stay no longer always means remaining in a hospital ward. Through initiatives such as Mobile Inpatient Care@Home (MIC@Home), Singapore is developing new ways for suitable patients to receive acute, inpatient-level care while recovering at home.
Introduced by NHG Health, MIC@Home combines medical supervision with home-based support through remote monitoring, video consultations, home visits and assistance from trained care workers. The programme allows suitable patients to continue receiving medical care outside a traditional hospital setting.
NHG Health was the first healthcare cluster in Singapore to introduce MIC@Home, launching the programme at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in May 2019. It was later expanded to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Woodlands Hospital as part of Singapore’s national MIC@Home initiative.
While home-based care offers greater flexibility, one challenge remained: ensuring patients had sufficient support to recover safely outside the hospital. This was especially important for elderly patients or those without adequate caregiver assistance at home.
To address this gap, NHG Health partnered with Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities (THKMC) in July 2024. Under the pilot programme, THKMC care workers visit patients daily for a default five-day period to provide additional support, including monitoring vital signs, assisting with medication, showering and wound care.
Meanwhile, the MIC@Home team continues medical supervision through remote monitoring, video consultations and at least one in-person home visit during the recovery period.
Around 152 patients across the three hospitals have benefited from the programme, with another 100 expected to receive support this year.
For 82-year-old Yang Zhong Jia and his 78-year-old wife Ma Zhen Ju, having care staff available at home provided greater reassurance during recovery. The additional support helped them feel more comfortable while transitioning from hospital care to recovery at home.
Senior Consultant Dr Boh Toon Li, lead geriatrician for NHG MIC@Home at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, said many frail and elderly patients prefer receiving treatment at home but may require additional caregiver support to make it possible.
As THKMC explores expanding the programme to more hospitals and introducing a paid version of the service, MIC@Home highlights how hospitals and community partners can work together to provide more recovery options for suitable patients.
By bringing medical expertise closer to where patients live, the initiative shows how healthcare delivery can continue evolving while helping patients recover safely with the right support around them.
Source: NHG Health
