Home Care Devices: A New Challenge for the Profession

Abstract

of hospital beds and wheelchairs. But much has changed since then, and the combination of an aging population and increasingly sophisticated, easy-touse medical equipment has led to an explosion of home and other non-hospital-based healthcare. From infant apnea monitoring and home dialysis to the defibrillators now common in public spaces, sophisticated and life-saving equipment and treatments are no longer confined to the hospital or clinic. The trend has presented new challenges for the medical device industry, from manufacturing and regulations to device maintenance. About 7.6 million Americans currently receive home care from 83,000 providers due to acute illness, long-term health conditions, permanent disability, or terminal illness.1 And the 78 million baby boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964—who are now entering their 60s are expected to swell the ranks of those receiving home care even further. The trend “is to move more healthcare out of the hospital setting and into other kinds of facilities—whether that’s a home or some kind of intermediate care facility,” says Chuck Sidebottom, director of corporate standards for Medtronic. Inc., and chairman of AAMI’s Board of Directors. “I don’t think anybody sees this abating any time in the foreseeable future.” Home Care Devices: A New Challenge for the Profession