My Home Hospital is available for a range of conditions, for which in home care is considered appropriate. My Home Hospital brings the care to the patient in the form of doctors, nurses, allied health practitioners, some x-rays and blood tests, medication and other support services such as meals and personal care, if necessary. 

For a downloadable copy of the information on this page please see Information for Clinical Staff fact sheet (PDF 813KB).

How can patients be referred

Referral form (PDF 260KB)

Referrals can be made at any time by calling 1800 111 644 to speak clinician to clinician or by completing the referral form (PDF 290KB).

The clinical governance of the patient remains with the referrer until admission is confirmed.

Conditions that are covered by our service

The service provides acute hospital-level care for the following conditions:

  • infections requiring IV antibiotics (e.g. cellulitis, pneumonia, mastitis)
  • exacerbation of respiratory conditions
  • heart failure
  • post-operative care
  • deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE)
  • gastrointestinal conditions
  • other conditions for which in-home care is considered safe and appropriate.

Who can refer to My Home Hospital?

Patients can be referred to My Home Hospital by their GP, medical specialist, a nurse practitioner, SA Ambulance Service or from an emergency department or hospital.

To make a referral, please call 1800 111 644. Clinicians are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to discuss referrals and individual patient eligibility for the service.

A member of the My Home Hospital team will collect basic patient identifiers and demographics. They will then transfer your call directly to the admitting medical officer who can discuss the patient’s individual needs with you, including clinical requirements and the person’s home environment. During this conversation, the medical officer will accept or decline the referral, and discuss their clinical reasoning. Any required documentation, such as medication list can then be forwarded, without the need to fill in the referral form.

Referral forms

Information for GPs

The video above outlines information about My Home Hospital for general practitioners and practice managers, including the simple and efficient referral process. GPs can call My Home Hospital anytime and speak clinician to clinician. Most referral discussions take 5 minutes and acute services can be at the patient’s door the same or next day, depending on patient needs.

Referral templates

Referral templates can be downloaded for GP practice management software, including Best Practice, Medical Director and Zedmed on the Adelaide PN website.

Instructions on how to import referral templates

Adelaide PHN have developed instructions for how to import the forms.  

Do patients have to pay?

My Home Hospital is available at no charge to eligible public patients from:

  • across metro Adelaide
  • Gawler and Mount Barker regions and surrounds
  • the Southern Fleurieu Peninsula towns of Goolwa, Goolwa North, Goolwa South, Goolwa Beach, Middleton, Port Elliot, McCracken, Hayborough, Victor Harbor and Encounter Bay.

What are the eligibility criteria?

To be eligible to receive acute hospital level care in their home, the patient must:

  • provide consent to receive services from My Home Hospital
  • reside in the Adelaide metropolitan area or the Gawler and Mount Barker regions and their surrounds (either usually, or while admitted to My Home Hospital)
  • require a minimum of daily clinical care but not require 24 hour observation
  • be more than 13 years of age
  • have access to a mobile phone or landline and be able to make and receive phone calls
  • have a safe and suitable home environment to receive their care
  • be assessed as clinically appropriate to receive care at home.

Clinical advice and support for referrers about patient suitability for My Home Hospital and diagnostic work-up that may be required is available from the Virtual Care Centre 24/7 (including weekends and public holidays) on 1800 111 644 (1800 111 MHH).

To check if your patient lives within the My Home Hospital service area, please see the patient postcode and suburb eligibility checker.

Referrers are welcome to call 1800 111 644 any time for a clinician-to-clinician discussion about their patient’s needs, as the service can be provided for any acute condition where hospital care in the home is safe and appropriate.

What is included in the My Home Hospital Service for patients?

My Home Hospital offers:

  • Daily ward rounds, with more frequent medical review as required for patient safety, appropriate escalation, and clinically appropriate and efficient discharge processes
  • at least once daily nursing clinical review for the entire My Home Hospital admission, immediate medical review if the patient’s condition is not within agreed or acceptable parameters
  • clear escalation and transfer pathways for patients whose condition is deteriorating, or on request of the patient of family.

How often will patients be visited?

My Home Hospital patients will receive in-home visits as often as their condition requires, at least once a day. These visits will be provided by experienced registered nurses, doctors and allied health providers. Patients also have access to telehealth services, including videoconferencing to supplement their face-to-face care.

Care needs will match patient needs, with personalised care plans developed that are based on the information obtained from patients, their family and/or carer if appropriate, referrers and usual care providers. Regular review of care requirements will be conducted face-to-face and virtually, with care tailored to meet individual patient needs.

While admitted to My Home Hospital, patients will also have access to a care coordinator, who is an experienced registered nurse, to provide additional information or assessment as required 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

What can I tell my patient about the admission process?

  • Provide the patient a copy of the Patient Information Brochure (PDF 705KB).
  • The patient will be sent an admission pack by courier, which will include a touch-screen tablet, monitoring devices that will measure and record their clinical observations for the care team, and a personal alarm if they require one.
  • The nurse who visits the patient at home will set up their remote monitoring equipment and personal alarm, and show them how to use them. The patient will be able to talk to the care coordinator via phone or video call, using their touch-screen tablet, if the patient or their family or carer have any concerns during the admission.
  • The care coordinator’s role is to develop and oversee the care plan to ensure the patient receives all the care they need in a timely way, in consultation with the medical team. The care coordinator will monitor the patient’s clinical observations such as pulse, temperature and oxygen levels via our remote monitoring system, and talk to the patient regularly during their My Home Hospital admission.
  • The care coordinator stays in touch with the patient’s usual care providers, in particular their GP, so they know how their patient is going and when they will be discharged from My Home Hospital.

More information

Further Information about the service or individual patient eligibility is available by calling 1800 111 644.