Home-Based Care Embraces AI, But Cost and Integration Remain Key Hurdles
A recent industry survey reveals that home-based care providers are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence and other technologies to alleviate workforce burdens and improve patient outcomes, though significant challenges to widespread implementation persist.
Home-based care is undergoing a technological transformation, driven by the need to address staffing shortages, reduce administrative overhead, and enhance the quality of care. A recent pulse survey from Home Health Care News identified AI-powered documentation support and ambient listening tools as the technologies generating the most enthusiasm among providers.
The shift towards a more tech-forward industry is already underway. According to David Kerns, CEO of the LTM Group, technology’s greatest impact has been on his company’s workforce. “One of the biggest things that we’ve had is just helping with retention, helping with quality of life,” Kerns stated. LTM implemented an initiative dubbed “pajama time,” designed to eliminate documentation tasks completed after work hours.
Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, the LTM Group operates a network of home health and hospice agencies across the Midwest. Dr.Laura Walker, Chief Medical Officer of Pennant (PTNG), emphasized the importance of preserving the human element of care. “My favorite part about medicine is the personal interaction and the ability to show empathy and understanding about what [the patient is] going through,” Walker explained. “It’s well documented that physicians and providers spend more than 50% of their time interacting with the medical record and not the patients. I would hope that if we can optimize the utilization of technology and AI to fix that, and so that most of our time is interacting with patients, it would be a huge win.”
Pennant, based in Eagle, Idaho, is a holding company encompassing 141 home health and hospice agencies and 61 senior living communities. Beyond documentation, providers are increasingly focused on ambient listening and automated scheduling as key technologies for the next three to five years.
Steven Gonzalez, CEO of HealthView, highlighted the potential of ambient listening to enhance the human connection in care. “To have the human be able to show up and take care of someone in a human way, and maybe even from a voice outlook of charting … that’s the thing we’re the most excited about,” Gonzalez said. “When that starts to take place, care will actually get elevated.” HealthView,a Cerritos,California-based provider,has seen technological enhancements lead to improved patient and employee experiences,and also a stronger company culture. Automated scheduling is also a priority,with Kerns identifying it as the next technology investment for LTM,anticipating benefits for both patients and clinicians.
Navigating the Obstacles to Adoption
Despite the clear interest in these tools, technology adoption within the home-based care industry remains uneven. The survey revealed that 19% of organizations are “very advanced” in their technology adoption, while 28.6% are “somewhat advanced.” However, a significant portion – 28.6% – are “moderately advanced,” and 23.8% report limited technology adoption.
Several challenges hinder broader implementation. Respondents consistently cited cost and integration issues as the primary barriers. Unclear return on investment also emerged as a significant concern.
Integrating new tools can be particularly challenging for rapidly expanding organizations. “That’s always the hardest part [of integrating a new acquisition], is leading the transition of all the technology and making sure that nothing has dropped, or there’s no major interruptions,” Walker noted. Pennant maintains a dedicated team to manage these transitions, ensuring clinical service continuity and improving quality reporting.
furthermore, some operational challenges are beyond the scope of technological solutions. gonzalez pointed to the high cost of living in Southern California as a significant hurdle. “There’s only so much we can optimize and do with technology or outsourcing,” he said.
Despite these obstacles, providers remain optimistic about the future of home-based care – a future Gonzalez believes would have been unimaginable just a short time ago.
Worth a look
