Home Care Trends – Seizing Home Care Growth Opportunities in 2023

With a rapidly aging population and an increasing desire from seniors to age in place, the home care industry is experiencing a continued period of unprecedented growth.

The demand for care services in the home continues to show sharp and steady growth. As of 2023, there are 426,820 home care provider businesses in the US – 125,000 more than just a decade ago. In fact, this year’s figure is an increase of 2.3% from 2022.

And with the number of seniors in the US projected to account for approximately 20% of the population by 2050, this growth shows no sign of abating.

According to forecasts, this means 8.2 million jobs must be created before 2028 to match the expected demand for senior and other in-home care services.

How Covid-19 accelerated demand for home care

Without doubt, the Covid-19 pandemic completely changed the way we think about caring for our most vulnerable. It forced home care providers across the US and throughout the world to adapt to a “new normal.”

Fear of the virus saw more and more seniors (and others that needed care) choosing in-home care instead of nursing homes and other senior living communities. Naturally, not only did the patients themselves feel safer in their own homes, but it also provided greater peace of mind for their loved ones. In most cases, this turned out to be a more cost-effective solution, too.

That said, this shift was not an entirely new phenomenon. Prior to Covid-19, a move towards home care had been steadily on the rise for the previous five years and payors had been increasingly covering care that kept individuals out of hospitals and other health care facilities.

Long-term care (LTC) insurers were providing more and more home care coverage as a cost-saving alternative to institutional care, while the Veterans Administration and Medicaid also covered many home care services. Covid-19 merely accelerated this shift.

An enormous gap in the market

It’s undeniable that the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic will be with us for the foreseeable future.

About half of payors (48%) have already increased the availability of at-home health care options for members where possible, and about 1 in 3 (36%) are in the process of increasing at-home care options.

What’s more, the global home healthcare market size is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.96% from 2023 to reach $666.9 billion by 2030.

There is, therefore, still an enormous opportunity for growth. Meeting this rising demand is the home care industry’s opportunity of a lifetime, but many existing home care providers still need to adapt to be able to capitalize on these developing needs, while remaining profitable as a business.

Recruitment and retention remain a big challenge

As we experience this continued increase in demand for home care, providers face the obvious challenge of recruiting, hiring and retaining enough qualified caregivers to deliver superior care, value and safety.

Fifty-nine percent of home care providers cited recruitment as their biggest staffing challenge, followed by caregiver retention (29%).

To meet the increase in demand for top talented caregivers, it’s critical for providers to find ways to attract and engage the next generation of caregivers, and provide an exceptional caregiver experience that enhances job satisfaction and increases retention.

Ultimately, home care providers must adapt to be able to quickly scale, recruit, onboard, train and, in the long run, retain their care staff.

These in-demand caregivers are increasingly looking for agencies that provide them with the tools and resources to make their lives easier – that offer an enhanced caregiver experience – and, in turn, keep them satisfied and motivated.

Smartcare Software solves 99% of the greatest staffing challenges in the industry and supports the workflow and automation for 100% of the staffing area providers are adding this year. Request a free demo today!

Communication tools are key

Another critical factor for home care providers looking to take advantage of growth opportunities in the industry in 2023 is the delivery of high-quality communication – ideally, real-time communication via smartphone, tablet, or computer – to keep everyone involved in the circle of care engaged and informed.

This includes communication between office staff and caregiver teams, office staff and clients, and caregivers and their clients (and clients’ families).

Clearly, the more clients a provider takes on, and the more caregivers they hire, the greater the need for a streamlined, effective method for communication – which gives everyone access to schedules, care documentation, time tracking, route details, and more.

Smartcare Software solves 99% of the biggest communication challenges experienced by the industry – improving client and family satisfaction, increasing caregiver retention, streamlining operations, and enhancing quality of care. Book a free demo today!

Advanced platform solutions are needed

Meeting the staffing challenges and communication issues that the anticipated demand in the home care industry will bring requires an advanced solution. And in such a fast-changing environment, many home care providers are finding it difficult to keep up.

To make the most of these opportunities for growth and scaling, providers must act quickly and select the right technology partner to ensure they have the most optimal infrastructure in place.

Home care providers need advanced technology with agency enterprise solutions, operations automation, advanced point-of-care applications, tools to help them effectively hire and retain their caregivers, KPIs to manage their businesses and robust analytics to meet a growing number of regulations and reporting requirements, including integrated HIPAA-secure communication tools at the point of care.

And Smartcare Software can provide just that – and more.

Smartcare’s automation and advanced workflows mean common tasks like scheduling and payroll happen in minutes, not hours, increasing organizational efficiency.

Additionally, the software uses best-in-class workflows that are intuitive, increasing caregivers’ compatibility with their clients and helping to cut out the more mundane and time-consuming aspects in home care, such as management and task recording. This allows your caregiver team to focus on the more rewarding aspects of their job, like building stronger relationships with clients.

Smartcare Software: the way forward

Legacy or manual systems with disconnected spreadsheets are fast becoming a relic of the past; Smartcare offers an easy-to-use digital solution to manage, schedule and operate everything you need to help you and your business prepare for the future of home care.

Smartcare is a complete software platform and EMR that provides superior client outcomes, improved caregiver retention and reduced administrative overhead. It ticks all of the boxes and can provide solutions for all of home care’s challenges to come.

To learn more about Smartcare Software, get in touch now and let us know how we can help. Schedule a free demo today!

Don’t get left behind. Instead, reform and adapt – and learn to thrive in this unprecedented opportunity for growth!