Top 4 Trends in Home Care industry for 2018

By 2040, the senior population aged 85 and above will have exceeded 14-million. This is an increase of 143% increase from 2013. What that means is that there will also be an increase in the need for home care services. The thought is that a larger number of senior citizens will want to rely on qualified home care. We will discuss a few Home Care industry trends in this article.

Thanks to the baby boomer generation, the American senior citizen population is growing. Every day, roughly 10,000 Americans will turn 65 for the next 20 years.  A recent study conducted by the Social Security Administration (SSA) says that Americans turning 65 are expected to live to be 84-86 years old. It is projected that by 2040, the senior population aged 85 and above will have exceeded 14-million.  This indicates an increase of 143% from 2013.

The statistics suggest that life expectancy has increased, and it is going to increase even more. That means there will also be an increase in the need for home care services, as many senior citizens will want to rely on qualified home care. And that’s good news for the home care industry. Having said that, home care agency needs to embrace the ever-changing dynamics of an evolving landscape to keep up with competition and increase their home care sales.

4 Trends Homecare Industry is Facing in 2018

1. Managing Home Environments with Smart technology 

Home care service providers have the opportunity to use technology to their advantage. They can provide good quality services with lowered costs. As the technology advances, there’ll be a rise in the range of devices that can instantly record and transmit vital health data and allow communication between patients, doctors, nurses, family, and the home care agency. With the advent of voice technology in devices, clients can now self-report health metrics, and with devices like Alexa, the feelings of loneliness have drastically reduced.  The voice technology trend is being harnessed to manage home environments. Homes are becoming smarter every day.

2. Agencies will rely on data to improve operating efficiency and evaluate their performance.

In 2018, data will be exhaustively used in-home care marketing strategies to highlight the services, successful patient outcomes and directly convey their accountability. Home care agencies will use data to measure their performance. One of the factors considered in evaluating the performance of the agency will be the patient readmission rates. Are the rates low or high?

3. Person-centered care will take a holistic approach to home care.

Person-centered care will be gaining more traction.  This will have a big impact on the home care industry in 2018 and beyond. With person-centered care, home care agencies will focus on wholesome patient home care. In addition, to providing improved quality of care and patient outcomes from the clinical perspective, person-centered care will also pay equal attention to the patient’s emotional, social, spiritual, and financial health.

4. There will be more mergers and acquisitions between insurers and home care service providers

The trend of healthcare consolidation between home care providers and insurers has been emerging over the past few years. This trend will continue in 2018 and beyond as well. The focus of the mergers is on creating more integrated full-service home care service providers. More and more insurers will tie-up with home care agencies to provide value-based medical care at lower costs.

The Bottom Line

This year will continue to be a busy time for the home care industry. The change is evident, whether for the good or the worse. Many of the biggest home care trends in 2018 has been overwhelmingly positive. Due to the advancements in home care technology, agencies are better equipped to deliver premium quality at a lower cost.