In spite of the pandemic, a recent survey of 386 home health and home care professionals showed that there is a growing demand and real optimism for home-based care. The survey revealed how the industry is taking action in terms of navigating the evolution of home-based care, investing in technology to improve efficiency and care delivery, and preparing for staffing and growth challenges in 2022.

Growth Opportunities

Anticipated areas of growth in 2022 for the home-based care industry are non-skilled home care services (37%) and skilled home health care (31%). Many respondents are planning to pursue new care models, such as hospital-at-home and SNF (skilled nursing facility)-at-home on top of the list.

As home-based care providers look forward to a post-pandemic future in home-based care, 38% of them anticipate growing referrals from hospitals, while 35% cited other community sources. Hence, 72% anticipate a rise in overall revenue this year.

Transition to Value-based Care

The survey showed that providers could use a confidence boost with regards to transitioning to value-based care. It was found that on a scale of 1-10, the average rate of preparedness for value-based care is 6, which is moderate.

Almost half the respondents said they do not anticipate making changes in technology platforms. However, if the need arises, improving patient outcomes and monitoring is the top catalyst for change.

Staffing Challenges

Despite the anticipated growth area and the transition to value-based care, staffing remains to be a challenge, confirming the results from a related survey specifically on staffing. 80% of the participants said staffing is their greatest non-COVID-related challenge for 2022, with 57% and 32% of them concerned about recruiting and retention, respectively. In addition, staff management is the top category that respondents are ready to invest heavily in, while almost half believe they can achieve the greatest business efficiency in staffing utilization.

Leveraging Partnerships for Growth

This year’s tech and business efficiency investments by agencies are geared towards addressing the huge staffing challenge amid the new growth opportunities and the transition to value-based care. There are new roads to maneuver and providers will need all the help they can get.

For starters, a good first step that agencies can take is to partner with an outsourced clinical team to take care of compliance and documentation tasks so that in-house teams can focus on patient care and other key functions. Addressing concurrently increasing back-office tasks with the help of an outsourcing partner can make a big difference in the pursuit of business growth.

The survey was conducted from November 22, 2021 to December 20, 2021 by Home Health Care News in partnership with a home care software provider, Homecare Homebase. Download the full survey results here>

The post What to Expect for Home-based Care in 2022 first appeared on Qavalo.

It has been a rough start to 2022 with the onset of the COVID-19 Omicron variant spreading like wildfire. This alone makes it difficult to predict what will happen in the coming months. As the public health emergency drags on, it creates a domino effect of changes, both good and bad, for home health. 

Notwithstanding, there is the probability of 2022 being the fruitful year for home health, as it continues to play a crucial role in healthcare amidst the pandemic. The public’s new appreciation and awareness about home health highlights the value it brings. 

Nevertheless, home health is definitely not without its challenges. Let us take a quick look at what these might be, and the opportunities at hand.

Hurdles to Tackle

Staffing

In the 2021 Outlook Survey by Home Health Care News (HHCN), 59% of the respondents said that staffing remains their single-most challenging aspect of home health operations. With the onset of COVID-19, healthcare demand has increased drastically, overwhelming the supply of clinicians. With the way things are going, staffing challenges are expected to continue well into 2022 or even longer. 

Amidst the staffing issues are opportunities for growth that agencies can pursue. Many are taking advantage of outsourcing clinical back-office functions. With the right outsourcing support, home health businesses can optimize their in-house clinical workforce for actual patient care.

Supply Chain

Last year, there was a global supply chain strain, from a transportation crisis to a shortage of raw materials, which has affected the healthcare system, including access to durable medical equipment (DME). Economists are predicting that this issue is not going away anytime soon this year, with both limited product availability and increases in prices. Apart from a deliberate effort to prioritize medical equipment, industry advocates have called for the creation of a “fast pass” system to address this. It is supposed to speed up the movement of medical supplies and add space on containers and sea freight.

Opportunities for Growth 

Mergers and Acquisitions

2021 saw a spike in the healthcare economy, and it is expected to continue progressing this year with increased mergers and acquisitions. The two main factors driving this activity are liquidity in the market and a continued retirement of baby boomers, who own most of the companies in the U.S. 

Telehealth

The pandemic has opened up a lot of opportunities for telehealth out of necessity, mostly. According to the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, what we need to look out for is if telehealth waivers will be extended beyond the public health emergency. Also, there may be opportunities for growth in complex rehab technology and home infusion in 2022, as well as the possibility of expansion efforts for palliative care.

Industry developments

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) model nationwide expansion in its recent final rule. Throughout this year, CMS will provide technical guidelines and assistance to HHAs on how performances will be assessed for the first performance year of HHVBP set for CY 2023.

Further guidance about the new OASIS-E is also anticipated to be released this year. With OASIS-E implementation also set for January 1st, 2023, we expect CMS will release more information on how HHVBP will be reflected in it.

Equipped for What is to Come

While it is still a bit early to see completely what 2022 brings for home health, it is never too early to prepare. With what is on the horizon, agencies must be equipped and ready to navigate the ever-changing home health landscape. From a business viewpoint, agencies need to have strategies in place that will allow continuous business growth amidst potential setbacks. Critical to this are focus on the core business function, which is patient care, and getting specialized support for other key processes.

The post [2022] What’s on the Horizon for Home Health? first appeared on Qavalo.