The Growth of In Home Health Care

It's no secret that healthcare is expensive. But many new innovations are making the cost of healthcare more feasible for the average American. Home healthcare is one such development. Although this has been around for quite some time, in home healthcare has recently exploded in popularity. Consider how many of these providers there were in 1990 (5,730), and compare this number to the latest evaluation that took place in 2007 (9,024). As you can see, the number of in home healthcare providers has almost doubled in the given period. As the economy has contracted over the last few years, the healthcare sector has actually increased steadily in size. This has occurred even in the face of thousands of jobs vanishing all over the United States. During 2010 alone, the hospitals across our nation added about 50,000 jobs bringing the total number of people in the industry up to well over 4.7 million workers. In home healthcare too has increased its workforce. What started out as a fledgling, low-demand industry has quickly blossomed into a large source of employment itself. In 2010, this industry grew by about 40,000 jobs to just over 1 million. The main reasoning behind this growth is economics. Home healthcare is much cheaper than a hospital visit. This is true concerning both patients and healthcare providers. Services looking to reduce their overhead cost have found that they can save money by traveling to people's homes and providing care there. Likewise, this process is cheaper for the person receiving care as they do not have to pay the built in cost of maintaining the facility they are visiting. The in home healthcare trend is not going to disappear. This has proven to be a great resource for those needing daily care that does not necessarily require a hospital visit. By reducing the cost for all parties involved, it is clear that this is not only a convenience to patients, it is a necessity for many providers to continue business during times of a rough economy. As the American workforce ages, it has been said that an estimated one out of every two individuals will require some sort of long term care. In home healthcare provides the greatest opportunity for those of us requiring a lesser degree of care to get the most convenient and affordable help. While the demand grows, so will the industry. Healthcare is an industry that will forever be in demand; as people age, the need for healthcare will only grow. Once the numbers for 2011 are released you can be sure that the in home healthcare industry will once again have increased in size. A poor economy and the ever increasing ease of obtaining such help have guaranteed this.