5 Reasons that Prove the Home Care Industry is Growing

Do you know that the fastest-growing sector in the healthcare industry today is home care?

While this may come as a surprise to many of us, experts working in the field as professionals vouch for this growth. Particularly those professionals that offer compassionate care for their older adults.

People aged 65 and older represented around 16% of the population in the year 2019. That number is expected to grow to 21.6% of the population by 2040. The 85 and older age group is expected to more than double from 6.6 million in 2019 to 14.4 million in 2040, a whopping increase of 118%.
- 2020 Profile of older Americans

When speaking about the population, the number is skyrocketing. The home healthcare market has expectations of reaching $813 billion USD by 2028. There are also other reasons for the growth of in-home care.

Accelerating Jobs: According to Homecare Magazine, job growth in the healthcare sector has increased much faster than in the rest of the economy. More than 10% of the total jobs in the United States are in the healthcare sector.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is estimated to add around 1 million home care jobs by 2029.
-The New York Times

One of the reasons for this growth is because people are living longer. Studies show there may be a shortage of around 100,000 caregivers for older adults by 2030. Additionally, the next decade will create a million new home care jobs due to a constant caregiver demand.

Affordability of Home Care Services: For years, an average-income person considered home care too expensive. However, now people realize that home care is a much more affordable option than ever. It has become a viable option for adults caring for their elderly family.

Research conducted in 2020 shows that home care costs an average of $23 to $24 an hour
-Genworth

Additionally, Medicare and Medicaid has made home care a viable option for the elderly in the United States, exponentially increasing the industry’s growth. The rising population of individuals turning 65 is becoming Medicare-eligible so that seniors can avail themselves of those benefits.

Greater Convenience of Home Care: Convenience is one of the most significant factors for the rapid growth of the non-medical care industry. Many people would rather have a skilled caregiver to see their aging loved ones at home rather than risk compromising their health at a crowded facility.

The home care industry allows the elderly to receive assistance quickly and in relative safety.

The Emergence of Technology in Home Care

Technology has played a pivotal role in the growth and success of the home care industry. It has created automated intelligence to benefit caregivers and older adults. Increasing investment in technology allows in-home caregivers to observe and report health conditions.

Electronic Visit Verification: With the implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act, home care agencies must abide by Electronic Visit Verification mandates, tracking caregivers, viewing schedule status & shifts for accurate time-tracking, and easy clock-ins & clock-outs.

Smart Billing & Invoicing for Easy Payment Collection: Automate and track invoices easily and export to QuickBooks on the go. Home care agencies using the software can quickly revise invoices and perform multiple actions with invoices to keep track, helping significantly save time.

Multilingual Support for Caregivers: Home care software empowers caregivers, clients, and agencies with a caregiver app. The app has advanced scheduling features, giving more power to caregivers to ensure quality delivery. It helps simplify communication with multilingual support, one dashboard for caregivers to stay updated with upcoming shifts, and a COVID-19 Pre-screening module.

Learning Management System to Expand Skills: Keeping up to date with training programs helps caregivers stay current. With well-designed eLearning courses, caregivers can learn anytime and anywhere. Caregivers can view their progress with training reports.

Tech giants have a mindset that technology always presents a “risk versus reward”. However, some factors like costs, growth, and quality sure outdo the technological risks.

Growing Senior Population:

The home care industry helps cater to the rising senior population needs. New home care models and comprehensive programs help prioritize at-home care for the baby boomer population.

Though the senior home care industry faces a lot of problems, it continues to sail through the client demands. A number of factors such as competent caregivers, advanced technology, and adequate workforce boosts the service quality offered by the in-home care industry.

The Conclusion

Now that the population is growing and baby boomers are living longer, home care services have become necessary more than ever. The industry requires compassionate, knowledgeable, and skilled people to enter the industry and bridge the gap between the availability of caregivers and older adults.

Mentioned above are some reasons for the home care industry’s growth. And this number is all-set to increase in the coming time, showing that the industry will reach new heights of success in the coming years!