Healthcare delivery systems at every point in the chain are at risk of becoming overwhelmed by the sheer number of consumers requiring healthcare services. The strain on the system and the associated costs will only increase as an aging population makes the status quo untenable. As a digital business strategy professional in the home healthcare industry, Digital Transformation holds the promise of delivering healthcare maintenance and chronic disease management in a more cost-effective and efficient manner with better outcomes for the patient.
Remote monitoring improves patient outcomes. Many chronic diseases can be managed long-term with the right care and monitoring. However, repeated trips to a doctor’s office for simple intake evaluations that can now be done at home wastes patients’ time and squanders healthcare professionals’ resources that might be better spent on more acute cases. Instead, in-home technology facilitates the care of more patients at lower costs to providers.
In-home care diversifies revenue streams and lowers costs. An aging population will put added stress on the healthcare delivery system unless an alternative approach is developed. This presents an exceptional opportunity for a digital business strategy professional to offer a full complement of home healthcare alternatives, allowing the elderly to age-in-place.
AN AGING POPULATION WILL MAKE LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES UNTENABLE
Historically, it made sense for healthcare tools to be centrally-located, forcing patients to “come-to-the-healthcare.” Monitoring devices were expensive (blood pressure cuffs, heart monitors, and blood analysis tools). However, today the Internet of Things (IoT) and supply-and-demand have driven-down costs to the point that at-home healthcare monitoring devices are becoming the norm and thus, bringing the tools to those who need it most. As a result, digital business strategy professionals in the healthcare industry have the opportunity to fundamentally change the way healthcare services are delivered to the patient. By offering a full complement of home healthcare products and services, both patients and healthcare facilities will recognize your organization as the one-stop shop for all in-home healthcare needs.
As the Baby Boomer generation retires in record numbers, they will require long-term care as lifespans increase and chronic diseases are managed and controlled. This need will only increase as one spouse dies, leaving the other to seek healthcare services from those outside a family-centric environment. However, that need is likely to lie somewhere between critical care warranting hospitalization and chronic care not rising to the level of nursing home confinement.
The development of smaller and less expensive monitoring devices will dramatically change the way healthcare is delivered and enable the patient to live longer independently. By aging-in-place, healthcare costs overall will decline, while opening up a whole new area of in-home care products and services.
An aging population will require more healthcare services to manage chronic diseases. More persistently high healthcare costs are expended for chronic disease management. Therefore, cost-containment will be critical to a sustainable system.
In-home healthcare solutions will fundamentally transform the healthcare delivery system. Bringing health monitoring devices directly to the patient will transform what it means to make a “house call” and enable a healthcare practitioner to care for more patients than in-office visits would have allowed; thus, driving down costs in the process.
IN-HOME HEALTHCARE WILL BECOME AS UBIQUITOUS AS ONLINE SHOPPING AND PIZZA DELIVERY
Healthcare costs are high and can be expected to rise at an increasing rate due to the growing numbers of an aging population. Medical advances have meant that it’s now possible to live to an older age by managing chronic diseases long-term. However, the current healthcare delivery model is untenable and may not ensure the best outcomes.
In the past, it made sense to make the patient “come to the healthcare,” because machinery and equipment were big, bulky, and expensive. However, new(er) technologies have enabled healthcare to be consumed at the source: the patient’s home. Telemedicine enables patients to be “seen” by a doctor, and home healthcare devices enable patient monitoring remotely.
Today many of these services and activities are still performed in-office, at higher costs, and at greater inconvenience to the patient. Instead, if patients received the same services in their own home, all would potentially benefit. The medical facility/doctor’s office would reduce operating costs by re-purposing in-office healthcare professionals to more high-value patient activities, and the patient would not have to visit a medical facility, which could put them at greater risk than if they’d gotten medical attention at home.
Mobility is often an issue for the elderly. Some may require canes, walkers, and wheelchairs, while others may no longer be able to drive. All run the additional risk of falls due to unfamiliar terrain, as well as being exposed to contagious illnesses, which are much more threatening for those with weakened immune systems, such as the elderly. As a result, in-home healthcare enables the patient to receive similar services via remote monitoring without the added risk to mobility and exposure to illnesses often associated with a trip to the doctor’s office.
In-home healthcare providers with a keen understanding of eldercare issues and how to capitalize on them will be well-positioned to take advantage of this rapidly-changing environment. Offering a full complement of products and services to include the purchase/rental of healthcare monitoring devices and activity- and fall-alert systems will establish your reputation as the go-to provider for seniors who want to age-in-place. To round-out your offerings of home healthcare products and services, home remodeling specifically targeted at maintaining independence for the elderly would further diversify potential revenue streams.
Lower technology costs will make virtual “house calls” more affordable and cost-effective. At-home monitoring devices will free-up the time of on-site healthcare personnel for higher-value activities and result in better outcomes for the patient. Missed appointments will be minimized, and a proactive approach to holistic care management will become possible.
An aging population presents an opportunity to disrupt the healthcare delivery system. Digital business strategy professionals in the home healthcare industry will be able to contain costs, while diversifying revenue streams. Offering monitoring devices and skilled healthcare professionals for in-home visits brings healthcare to the consumer and enables the patient to live independently at home.
Disrupting the healthcare delivery system will act as a competitive advantage. Those specializing in providing comprehensive in-home healthcare solutions will be able to capitalize on patients’ desire to age-in-place rather than be warehoused in expensive facilities. Furthermore, as each generation ages their technological savviness increases until the entire population will be considered digital natives. This will make adoption of the home healthcare devices more readily accepted and embraced.
RECOMMENDATION:
PROVIDE A FULL COMPLEMENT OF HOME HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS
Cater to the growing demographic of an aging population and transform the healthcare delivery system by following these steps.
Provide a business process and operational analysis to doctors’ offices and healthcare facilities. Analyze the metrics associated with the typical appointment: how staff is generally utilized, what procedures are routinely performed, what are the most typical reasons for appointments. Assign a cost to each in order to arrive at the total cost of a typical office visit. In this way, a side-by-side cost comparison of telemedicine and in-home healthcare vs. in-office appointments are more readily apparent, as well as a powerful selling point for your healthcare products and services.
Develop strategic alliances for the best rates on the healthcare products and services you’ll offer. Strong market participants have greater leverage in dictating terms and conditions that are advantageous. However, having enough stock on-hand will develop your own brand as the go-to home healthcare provider. Therefore, it can be a rather circular endeavor as one begets the other.
Provide excellent staffing and strive for low turnover. People like to do business with people they like. That’s difficult to achieve if an endless line of new names and faces consistently cycle through. Employee retention is less-costly than new hires. Therefore, offer hiring and longevity bonuses, as well as perks that recognize and value long-term employees.
Develop a Go-To-Market strategy that appeals to both healthcare providers and the elderly. Include a push and pull marketing approach that demonstrates cost reductions for healthcare providers and improved outcomes for seniors who want to age-in-place. Attend and present at events targeting the elderly demographic in order to gain name-brand recognition, and advertise in publications that appeal to those who want to age well and at-home.
