CMS policies, new technologies will change home health: Survey

Home healthcare will experience new business opportunities amid a changing regulatory environment and emerging technology in 2015, according to a survey of conducted by Kinnser Software.

The survey gathered input from 181 home health providers and leaders on the biggest factors in the coming year. The top influencers for 2015 included new policies from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, trends in personalized home-care regimens, a greater use of wearable, data-gathering technology, and the growing popularity of cloud-based applications and mobile devices.

Business opportunities will be at play for those who can learn to harness technologies that collect and analyze healthcare client data. “Big data mean big business for home health agencies,” says Chris Hester, president and founder of Kinnser Software, in a blog about the report. “The insights gleaned will also be substantial for the long-term care process. Health providers will be able to identify long-standing patterns and risk factors in order to nip them in the bud instead of working to reach similar conclusions following expensive hospital visits or other health events.”

As more older Americans choose to remain out of formalized senior living longer, the crucial need for “in between care” will surge, changing the structure of the entire home care market. Instead of the two traditional business models of home care—Medicare-funded, highly trained post-acute care and private-pay assistance with activities of daily living—the future will require plenty of care in the gaps, Hester says.

“This new need will provide opportunities for agencies that are able to straddle these disparate areas of care to provide post-acute-level service at a lower price point,” Hester says. To achieve this, businesses will need to look at innovative models that harness technology to lower costs and best utilize face time with patients.”

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.