Informa Australia is part of the Informa Connect Division of Informa PLC
This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 3099067.
11 Mar 2026, by Amy Sarcevic
As Australian health systems work to expand Hospital in the Home (HITH) services to meet a targeted 15 percent year-on-year growth, the focus is shifting from incremental change to scalable models of care.
As a global leader in virtual care and remote monitoring, Philips is working with Health Districts across Australia to help design and implement remote patient monitoring (RPM)-enabled care models that support this next phase of virtual care.
With more than two decades of experience supporting virtual care programs globally, Philips is now collaborating with health services to rethink how HITH programs operate—expanding patient eligibility, improving clinical oversight, and enabling new care pathways outside the hospital.
Philips Acute Care Informatics Lead Helen Callum says the opportunity lies in moving beyond traditional HITH models toward more scalable, technology-enabled approaches.
“Historically, Hospital in the Home programs were built around what patients could not be safely managed outside hospital,” she said.
“Today, we’re working with health services to redesign those models and use better clinical decision support and monitoring technologies to safely include more patients in HITH services at scale regardless of location”
From spot checks to continuous insight
A key enabler of this transformation is the evolution of remote patient monitoring.
Traditional HITH programs relied largely on intermittent observations collected during in-home visits. As programs expand to manage patients with varying levels of acuity, many services are now seeking continuous monitoring capabilities to support more proactive care.
“The shift we’re seeing is from occasional observations to richer clinical insight,” Ms Callum said.
“Continuous monitoring allows clinicians to detect early signs of deterioration and manage risk more effectively in the home environment.”
To support this approach, Philips has partnered with Respiree to bring hospital-grade wearable monitoring technology into HITH programs. The wearable device combines chest and finger sensors to continuously capture key physiological signals, including heart and respiratory rates—critical indicators for early deterioration.
“Respiree was a great match because they offered that continuous monitoring in a tech that is easy for patients to use. It consists of a chest and finger sensor and can pick up varying biometrics which can vary dependent on patient acuity. And yes, it can be deployed in hospitals but it works really well as a personal device for patients.
“Continuous respiratory and heart rate monitoring is becoming increasingly important for clinicians managing patients outside hospital,” Ms Callum said. “It brings a new level of clinical confidence to HITH programs.
“These can be the number one biomarker for predicting early deterioration. So, it’s become a priority to bring that skill level into these out-of-hospital scenarios.”
Designing Scalable Models of Care
While technology is a key enabler, scaling HITH requires broader transformation across clinical pathways, workforce models and governance structures.
Many health services are now reviewing how patients enter HITH programs, including potential direct referrals from emergency departments and earlier intervention models designed to prevent hospital admissions altogether.
At the same time, organisations are reassessing workforce models and governance frameworks to ensure clinicians can safely manage increased volumes of patient data generated through remote monitoring technologies.
“Every health district in each state has its own operating environment, so these models need to be designed locally,” Ms Callum said.
“The key is aligning clinical governance, workforce structures and technology to support safe, scalable virtual care.”
Continuing the conversation
Philips will share further insights into the future of Hospital in the Home at the upcoming Connect Virtual Care Conference, where Illawarra Shoalhaven LHD representative Ben Wakeling will explore how health systems can scale remote care models with proper governance and change management.
One ticket provides access to three conferences:
• Hospital in the Home
• National Telehealth and Virtual Health
• AI in Health Regulation, Policy and Standards Conference
The event will take place 31 March – 1 April.
Learn more and register your tickets here.
Informa Australia is the nation's leading event organiser. Our events comprise of large scale exhibitions, industry conferences and highly specialised corporate training.
