6 recent trends in home health technology

Healthcare at home has become increasingly available in recent years, and home health technology is only poised to continue to expand. The FDA recently launched an initiative called Home as a Health Care Hub to accelerate the transition of home environments into safe care alternatives. The main philosophy of this program is to create a connected, holistic environment of devices within people's homes and lifestyles.

According to AARP Research report, more than 1 in 5 Americans, about 21%, are caregivers, meaning care has been provided to an adult or child with special needs at some time in the past 12 months. The report estimates approximately 53.0 million adults were caregivers in 2015. In 2023, there were approximately 100 million adults in the United States who provided care for a child, parent, or other relative.

Caregivers and patients are on board—both prefer home-care models.¹ By understanding the impact of home health technology trends, you can remain at the forefront of delivering effective care experiences. Here are seven trends where home healthcare technology can play a role.

1. Aging in place with the help of home health technology

An aging population creates new demand for health from home. In the U.S., 27% of adults over 60 live alone, and 88% #of adults over 50 would like to stay home as long as possible. Businesses can meet this demand by offering home health technology with easy-to-navigate solutions that allow people to remain independent.  Patients are more likely to use technology ² they find easy to operate.

For example, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly 7 in 10 adults aged 40–79 used at least 1 prescription drug in the past 30 days, and around 1 in 5 used at least 5 prescription drugs.

However, according to other sources, patients struggle to take their prescriptions about half the time. Home healthcare technology solutions that alert  individuals that it's time to take their medicine can help tackle compliance.

Another common problem facing seniors is falling. Falls are the leading cause of injuries for adults over 65, affecting 25% annually. Smartwatches and care apps offer seniors a direct line to seek help in the event of an emergency, empowering individuals to live on their own terms. 

2. Internet of medical things helps patients manage chronic health issues at home

Six in ten Americans are living with a chronic disease, such as heart disease or diabetes, generating over 1 trillion dollars in annual national medical cost. Additionally, high blood pressure costs the United States about $131 billion yearly.

The internet of medical things (IoMT) is helping transform health from home. For example, for those suffering from diabetes, one helpful home healthcare technology is continuous glucose monitors (GCM). In a trial, these devices helped patients significantly improve three glucose parameters of GCM use. ³ Additionally, certain applications can alert you when it's time to have a snack, or even connect you with your emergency contacts in an emergency situation. Others allow you to contact medical professionals at the push of a button.

For heart disease, cardiac monitoring tools offer immense potential. In one program, 82% of patients achieved blood pressure reduction after following a remote monitor protocol. A Stanford School of Medicine study found that smartwatches can be a very effective diagnostic too—traditional ambulatory cardiac monitors failed to detect arrhythmias in children in 29% of cases where smartwatches did detect an issue.

3. Digital avatars streamline health from home care

The day of personalized healthcare fueled by artificial intelligence (AI) is close. As AI matures, it will become more tailored to specific needs. In a recent article on the future of generative AI technologies, Gartner® predicts that by 2027, more than 50% of the GenAI models that enterprises use will be specific to either an industry or business function — up from approximately 1% in 2023.”⁴

The possibilities for health from home are endless. What if you could derive expertise from your clinical teams to create chatbots⁵ that answer questions from other medical professionals, help patients lose weight or give people who have lost their speaking abilities a new voice? In the future, according to the podcast, Healthcare on Air, digital avatars could become patient care companions that provide insight to achieve healthcare goals or a care team's first line of response.

4. Creating social connections is a healthcare priority

Patients tend to care about technology's benefits in ways that are not always considered, such as how these tools affect their autonomy, the ease of accessing information, or allowing them to spend more time with their clinicians, in person or remotely.

The CDC calls for the healthcare system to view social connections as a major health issue priority, as these social connections can reduce mortality risk by 50%.⁶ In fact, the same report indicates that isolation risk can be more dangerous than smoking. Home healthcare technology may help reduce social isolation and drive meaningful social impact. For example, Equity Health, part of the Verizon Forward for Good Accelerator Health Equity cohort, developed a platform to enable home-based primary care practices.

5. Turning home healthcare data into insights

Healthcare analytics can provide great insight into home healthcare, helping organizations mine anonymized data to help improve outcomes and care. Data gathered from remote patient monitoring can also improve compliance for chronic diseases.

To do so, however, requires effective data management. According to the World Economic Forum, 97% of all global data produced by hospitals is not used, meaning that these insights could be hidden in the untapped potential of disjointed information. In fact, rapid digitization of these big data sets is compounding healthcare firms' ability to streamline and analyze data.

6. Health from home requires reliable connectivity

As healthcare data volume increases and connectivity expands, the safety and reliability of the network powering these interactions becomes a matter of life and death in healthcare. Connection problems, particularly in rural or isolated areas, however, can get in the way, leading patients to discard a potentially beneficial health tool. If the devices people rely on for accessing care suffer from connectivity issues, the device's value is lost in translation.

The American Medical Association reports that timely access to patient information is the glue that will make or break health at-home programs.⁷ The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) has redefined what ''point of care'' means. With real-time data needs, these devices rely on connectivity to save lives.

Healthcare organizations that leverage technologies like 5G, with ultra-low latency and expansive bandwidth, will deliver more secure patient experiences while augmenting performance.

Realizing the benefit of home healthcare technology requires the right partner

Communication technologies are the engine driving personalized care at scale. A reliable communication partner is the bloodline of the new era of home healthcare technology. 5G solutions can help connect patients and caregivers, keeping the humanity of care interactions intact while getting the most out of devices. 

Learn more about how Verizon's 5G can help power the connected healthcare of the future.

The author of this content is a paid contributor for Verizon.