Early Discharge Programme on Hospital-at-Home Evaluation for Patients with Immediate Postoperative Course after Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery.

Background: To audit the safety of the early hospital discharge care model offered by a Hospital-at-home (HAH) unit during early postoperative follow-up of these patients, and to determine whether this care model is more efficient compared to the traditional care model.

Methods: A prospective study of 50 patients included consecutively for 1 year in an early discharge programme after laparoscopic colorectal surgery was performed. As of day 3 after surgery, if the patient met the relevant inclusion criteria they were transferred to the HAH unit.