Question
What key drivers initiate home health growth?
Answer
The COVID-19 pandemic also accelerated consumer interest in at-home care. The number of home care patients increased from 5 million to 12 million by the end of 2020 as patients sought to avoid virus exposure in facilities. This surge in demand for in-home services is spearheading an expansion and transformation of home healthcare.
The growth in demand for home health is reflected in increased funding and utilization. Home health funding from Medicare and private insurance grew 9.5% from 2019 to 2020. There is also a clear aging population preference for care at home. Nearly $265 billion worth of care services, representing 25.5% of total costs for Medicare and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, could shift from traditional facilities to home-based care by 2025 without reducing quality or access.
The COVID-19 pandemic spotlighted the vital role home health can play in alleviating strain on overburdened healthcare facilities struggling with surges in hospitalizations. Keeping vulnerable seniors and chronic disease patients healthy at home helps avoid unnecessary healthcare system utilization. Most patients agree in-home recovery is more convenient, comfortable, and reduces infection exposure risks.
Home health allows patients to continue therapy treatments started in the hospital from the comfort of home. Common home health therapies include respiratory, physical, occupational, speech, and nutritional therapies tailored to manage disease and improve quality of life.
Common home health therapies include physical therapy to improve mobility and function, speech-language pathology to work on communication and swallowing disorders, occupational therapy to increase the ability to perform activities of daily living, and respiratory therapy to manage chronic pulmonary diseases and optimize breathing.
The cost savings of home-based care are significant, too. One study found substituting home care for hospital admissions reduces costs by 30% per admission while achieving equivalent health outcomes. There are many factors fueling growth in home health demand, but a key driver is simply that people want to heal and manage care in the comfort of their homes rather than facilities. The patient preference for in-home recovery and care is increasingly being heard and supported across the healthcare system.
This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the course, Subacute Care Discharge Planning for the Respiratory Patient, presented by Vrati Doshi, MSc, RRT.
