Report: Hospital Capacity Challenges To Drive Expansion Of At-Home Care 

Home Health Care News | By Patrick Filbin
 
A new report found that hospital capacity challenges will persist for the next decade. That, in turn, is a promising sign for more at-home care opportunities in the future.
 
The report — Sg2’s 2023 Impact of Change Forecast — found that hospital capacity challenges will be severely tested, driven by higher patient-acuity levels and staffing shortages.
 
The complexity in patients is one of the driving factors in an increase in case mix index and longer hospital stays. Since 2019, case mix index — a measure reflecting the diversity, complexity and severity of patient illnesses – is up by 5%
 
During the same time frame, the average length of stay for patients admitted to a hospital has risen 10%.
 
Both of those factors have further exacerbated the workforce challenges in the health care space, the authors of the report found.
 
“As the population continues to age and chronic disease incidence rises, we expect increased demand across all sites of care,” Tori Richie, intelligence senior director with Sg2, said in a statement. “The reality is access is a challenge for these patient populations and care redesign will be critical to prevent the acute exacerbation of their medical conditions.”
 
The picture for traditional facility-based settings of care is far from rosy. As the report notes, that should open the door to more care-at-home opportunities.

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