Older adults regularly report a preference for age, and new data shows hospitals are increasingly referring patients to home health providers who allow it.
Home health referrals increased 4.6% year-over-year, according to new data from WellSky. Overall post-acute referrals have also increased, driven in no small part by home care.
The report says longer lifespans and more complex medical needs mean people will increasingly require post-acute care.
“These changes are reshaping how care is coordinated, from inpatient settings to discharge planning and transitions to (skilled nursing facilities) (SNFs) and home care,” the report said. “Post-acute referrals continue to increase overall and are primarily driven by (non-SNF) care facilities such as home health.”
The report is based on data from WellSky's network of 130,000 post-acute, home and community health care providers and more than 2,500 hospitals, accountable care organizations (ACOs) and physician practices.
Well Sky
In recent years, patients' visual acuity has improved significantly. According to WellSky, the average Van Walraven Index, a measure of comorbidity burden, has increased by 34% since 2019 and by 6% since 2024.
“Today's patients present with an increasing number of chronic and complex conditions, including kidney failure, impaired pulmonary circulation, obesity, and behavioral health issues,” the report says. “Notably, WellSky data shows that the average number of Elixhauser disease cases per patient (a widely used indicator of patient comorbidity) has increased from 4.30 in 2019 to 4.96 in 2024, demonstrating the growing clinical challenges that healthcare teams continue to face.”
As patient complexity increases and provider capacity is strained, the number of referrals sent per patient to secure post-acute care is also increasing.
Well Sky
Increasing patient complexity is driving another trend in the home healthcare ecosystem. Non-healthcare providers are increasingly entering more acute patient care and developing new service lines, including cancer and chronic disease care.
Current Health, a home-focused technology company, recently set its sights on more complex, high-risk acute patient care following its spinoff from Best Buy (NYSE:BBY).
To combat “acute creep,” health care providers have relied on technology and more value-based reimbursement models, experts told Home Healthcare News.
April Coxon, executive vice president of quality at Healing Hands Healthcare, previously told HHCN that “patients with more complex medical conditions require not only more frequent office visits and more expensive supplies, but also additional specialties such as home health aides and social workers to meet their individual and complex medical needs.”
