[Description of the operation of a home hospitalization unit in a public hospital at Santiago, Chile]. / Hospitalización domiciliaria: aspectos conceptuales y su aplicación en el Hospital Padre Hurtado, Santiago de Chile. Descripción de funcionamiento y su rol durante la primera ola de la pandemia COVID-19.

ABSTRACT

This article briefly discloses what home hospitalization consists of, its different models of care, and the benefits and difficulties associated with it. We also describe the operation of the home hospitalization unit of the Padre Hurtado Hospital in Santiago de Chile and the role it took in the context of the first wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic, specifically between March and August of the year 2020. We aim to share our experience with this emerging form of hospitalization that is already working in Chilean public hospitals. We also hope that this hospitalization modality will continue to grow over the years.