Hospitalization at home avoids or shortens hospital stays by providing continuous and coordinated medical and paramedical care at the patient's home. The care delivered in hospital at home differs from that usually provided at home by its complexity, duration and by the frequency of procedures.

In France, providing hospital care at home is allowed by the law since 1970. Since 2007, the presence of a hospital at home agency is mandatory on the entire territory. The French hospital at home agencies are healthcare providers subject to the same obligations as hospitals with inpatient care.

Hospitalization at home is open to patients of all ages - children, adolescents, adults - suffering from serious, acute or chronic pathologies, often multiple, progressive and / or unstable. Patients can be in a private home or in a nursing homes, as well as in other social and medico-social establishments (specialized centers, medico-educational institutes, social housing for children, apartment for therapeutic coordination, etc.).

The hospitalization at home has to be prescribed by a doctor considering the intensity of care a patient requires. The treatments are necessarily complex, technical, long, multi-daily, delivered by various health professionals practicing different specialties. The care is delivered 24/7 by the home hospitalization team, to ensure continuity of patient care. A doctor is always responsible of the care.