Telemedicine-assisted care of an older patient with COVID-19 and dementia: bridging the gap between hospital and home

Marinello, Renata; Brunetti, Enrico; Luppi, Chiara; Bianca, Dario; Tibaldi, Vittoria; Isaia, Gianluca; Bo, Mario

Hospital at Home (HaH) has been proposed as a solution to relieve pressure on hospital beds during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, caregivers' feelings of inadequacy and concerns on the need for tighter clinical monitoring might lead to unnecessary and potentially harmful hospital admissions in frail older patients with mild or atypical COVID-19. Here we report the case of a 91-year old woman with severe dementia and atypical COVID-19 that could be successfully managed by our HaH thanks to her highly motivated caregivers and the support of a telemedicine solution (TMS) to provide caregiver training and support as well as supplementary telemonitoring. Despite some well-known issues on TMS use, the hybrid in-person and tele-visit approach of TMS-assisted HaH could help to create a “secure” environment, empowering caregivers to manage frail older adults with COVID-19 at home, avoiding unnecessary admissions to closed wards and their negative physical, functional and psychological outcomes. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40520-021-01875-2.