
Hospitalization at home
Can COVID-19 patients be hospitalized at home in a familiar environment where they can’t infect other patients, but still get the necessary help, equipment and contact with healthcare professionals?


Since the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19 has put healthcare under immense pressure around the world. A shortage of beds, high workload and risk of infection are among the challenges.
Therefore, Zealand University Hospital and Northzealand Hospital joined forces with Swedish and Norwegian partners to investigate how patients with COVID-19 can be hospitalized in their own homes in a safe and secure way.
The project will investigate whether patients can be hospitalized at home in a safe and familiar environment where they cannot infect other inpatients, while receiving the necessary help, equipment and contact with healthcare professionals.
Collaboration across borders
Researchers and professionals from Denmark, Sweden, and Norway are collaborating to test home hospitalization with the goal of making it as safe and risk-free as possible. Together, they will develop solutions to monitor and treat COVID-19 patients at home, thereby increasing hospital capacity in the future. Home-based treatment will rely on telemedicine, including phone and video consultations with hospital staff.
In the first phase, the project will test the concept of “hospitalization at home” under controlled conditions with healthy subjects at three out of the four participating hospitals to assess how the equipment, environment, and communication with staff function. Following this, patients will test the equipment under controlled conditions in the hospitals. Finally, the system will be tested on COVID-19 patients at home.
Each partner in the project will contribute their unique skills and expertise over the course of the 1.5-year project. The initiative is expected to reduce the risk of infection in hospitals, maintain essential hospital functions, and thus help ensure society remains open. The project aims to develop an innovative model for better management of infectious diseases, preventing hospitals in the program region from becoming overwhelmed.
Results from this research could also benefit patients with other types of infections.



Project Partners
- Medical Department, Zealand University Hospital
- The Research Unit, Zealand University Hospital
- Department of Pulmonary and Infectious Medicine, North Zealand Hospital
- The Research Department, North Zealand Hospital
- Medical Emergency Department, Skåne University Hospital North West – Helsingborg Hospital.
- Medical Department, Sørlandet Hospital, Kristiansand