Leff B. Defining and disseminating the hospital-at-home model. CMAJ.2009;180(2):156-157.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2621275/. Accessed 7/9/14.The hospital, which is the “gold standard” for the delivery of acute medical care, is not an ideal care environment for many patients.1 Iatrogenic events such as nosocomial infections, pressure sores, falls and delirium are common.2 New functional impairment commonly occurs during hospital stay. Suboptimal transitions in care at the time of hospital discharge also occur, contributing, ironically, to readmission to hospital.3 Furthermore, hospital care is very expensive. In this issue, Shepperd and colleagues4 present a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of “hospital-at-home programs.”