The effort of having to repeat your information several times to different providers, then to fill out forms repeatedly is the cost of doing business in a highly regulated industry of home health care. The result is that the patient is NOT first. Money is. An elderly person will have a problem finding a truly comprehensive service provider that meets their end to end needs, because the system was designed to have the vendor in mind first, not the patient. If a senior home care recipient needs to see their physician, dentist, pharmacist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, geriatrician, nutritionist, social worker, care worker, in-home helper, or long-term care manager, they have to resort to a long list of phone numbers, and in many instances, none of these entities work together or share information with focus on the client. How do countries who provide centrally administered healthcare handle home care? As an example, let’s take Japan. Client care is the central objective of all entities involved in the industry, including insurance, government, and the agency. Therefore, information is shared, and all entities work together to provide care as the focal point instead of administration. However, Japan’s system is expensive to administer and inefficient. Despite the negatives, the overall health care cost is less per patient. Japanese labor laws are also very different. There are no non-discrimination laws, equal opportunity laws, and overtime laws for home health care workers. The diverse population of the United States makes it extremely difficult to match culture, diets, religious backgrounds unlike Japan. So can a home health care agency handle such diverse set of patient requirements? Possibly, but because there are only three competencies in running a business (good, fast, and cheap), and because a company only pick 2 of the 3 to be good at what they do, it’s important to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of any home care agency. ICONNEL focuses in providing the best care experience possible, fast, and at the least cost possible. However, we don’t specialize in volume, we specialize in a long-lasting relationship with a small group of clients. That level of intimacy can make a big difference in care continuity and service levels.
