Evolutionary struggles of supply chain strategy in home-based health care delivery

Abstract

As the healthcare industry in United States continues to be constrained by increasing costs, new delivery channels are coming into practice. One such channel is home healthcare. Home healthcare presents challenges on the basis of acceptability by the medical community, insurers and patients, availability of care in fragmented locations and affordability of the product or service in comparison to other healthcare modes. This study analyzes these challenges in an attempt to suggest strategies to allow home healthcare to grow as an industry and the successful sustainability of that growth. Methods used to analyze home healthcare include the study of two home healthcare firms, one pharmaceutical manufacturer who used home healthcare to augment their product, and in-depth interviews with several stakeholders within the healthcare system.