Home Healthcare

Term Paper # 104737

Aging
Medical and Health > Public Health Issues

Home Healthcare

This paper discusses the home healthcare industry in the U.S. market.

1,631 words () | 5 sources | APA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper relates that the vast majority of home healthcare industry consumers consist of the sick and the elderly, with Medicare/Medicaid programs comprising a significant percentage of the payment revenues. The paper looks at a specific competitor, the Heritage Homecare Agency located in Florida and discusses the results of a survey of home healthcare patients. The paper concludes that home healthcare is seen as one of the most promising alternative healthcare programs that might result in an overall cost reduction for healthcare services and delivery over the next several years.

Outline:
Executive Summary
Industry Analysis
Overview
Case Study
Home Healthcare Patient Survey
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The home healthcare industry in the United States (U.S.) is receiving a great deal of interest recently because of the ever increasing costs of healthcare in general which is leading many healthcare constituents, both industry competitors and consumers, to seek alternatives. The home healthcare industry in the U.S. is valued at approximately $40b annually and has some 20k unique industry competitors that focus primarily on 2 target patient markets: the elderly and the sick (Buckley & Van Giezen, 2004). Furthermore, the industry itself is not dominated by a few large companies as many other segments of the healthcare industry are. In this sense, the home healthcare industry is highly fragmented in nature because the 50 largest companies hold less that 24% of the total market share (Geisler, Krabbendam & Schuring, 2003)."

Sample of Sources Used:

Buckley, J. E., & Van Giezen, R. W. (2004). Federal Statistics on Healthcare Benefits and Cost Trends: An Overview Federal Government Statistical Agencies Provide a Variety of Healthcare Information on Diverse Aspects of the Nation's Healthcare Picture. Monthly Labor Review, 127(11), 43+.
Geisler, E., Krabbendam, K., & Schuring, R. (Eds.). (2003). Technology, Health Care, and Management in the Hospital of the Future. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Kadushin, G. (2004). Home Health Care Utilization: A Review of the Research for Social Work. Health and Social Work, 29(3), 219+.
Thompson, T. L., Dorsey, A. M., Miller, K. I., & Parrott, R. (Eds.). (2003). Handbook of Health Communication. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Ziguras, C. (2003). Self-Care: Embodiment, Personal Autonomy, and the Shaping of Health Consciousness. New York: Routledge.