More Health Systems Are Providing Care At Home, But More Resources Needed To Scale

Hospitals and health systems are increasingly shifting more care into the home setting.

Despite this, there’s still a greater need for technology, support and financial reimbursement in order to propel these efforts forward, a new report from Current Health suggests.

“Our survey found that two-thirds of health system leaders are offering some type of care-at-home service, but plans for investing in these programs continue across the acuity spectrum,” Current Health CEO Christopher McCann, said in an emailed statement. “The insights we’ve seen from those who are offering this care reveals that how you design and operationalize these care models really matters. The depth of EHR integration, the process for enrolling patients, the experience you’re offering clinicians all have a significant effect on the results and benefits you see.”

Based in Boston, Current Health has a software platform and a variety of connected devices that measure vital signs in the home and send data to health care providers. The organization surveyed more than 100 hospital and health system leaders for the report. Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) acquired Current Health last year.

Currently, more than half hospitals and health systems — 66% — offer some form of home-based care service, according to the report.

Offering these services have been a major value-add, in terms of patient experiences and outcomes, for hospitals and health systems. Leaders at these organizations cited decreased readmissions, decreased hospitalizations and decreased emergency room visits as some of the positive outcomes.

Still, many of these organizations are dealing with pain points related to offering care at home. Specifically, 95% of respondents identified staffing shortages as their top challenge. Furthermore, 58% of respondents said that hiring the right workforce is a major barrier to delivering care at home.

Other pain points for health care leaders were high costs, according to 74% of respondents, while 50% named reduced revenue. Rounding out the top five challenges, 36% of respondents identified limited capacity and 34% named “provider experiences and satisfaction.”

The report also found that technology was an essential part of offering home-based care. In fact, 54% of respondents said clinical monitoring support was the most important support service for care at home. Second was logistics support at 53%, while 48% said technical support.

Additionally, the report found that 70% of respondents believe that EHR integration is important when considering a care-at-home solution, and 78% reported that an enterprise-wide solution is crucial to delivering care in the home setting.

On this front, partnerships could be key to solving many of the current challenges, according to McCann.

“We’ve seen a continually growing appetite to move care home, but it will be partnerships that marry clinical, technical and operational expertise that fulfill the promises of these care models,” said in a press statement.

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