Caregivers, Patients Trade Blame for Equipment Delays, Study Finds

NEW YORK—The home-based health care experience may be broken for both patients and caregivers, according to a newly releases survey from Tomorrow Health.

The survey, which queried 500 home-based adult patients and 500 paid and unpaid caregivers, showed that both patients and caregivers are overwhelmed and stressed. Both groups equally (31%) blame each other when there is a delay in receiving life-saving medical equipment. Findings further exhibit that many patients are left in the dark, unaware of any coordinated assistance services made available by their health insurers. An overwhelming majority (77%) of the patients also reported that they are the primary contact for their medical suppliers. The survey also disclosed that 59% of patients received unreliable or poor-quality medical supplies and equipment.

Surveyed patients also shared their personal thoughts on the unreliability of receiving medical equipment:

• “Delays make me miss my doses which often lead to symptoms like headache.”
• “My health is unpredictable; I always need oxygen available because I suffer from breath blockage from time to time, [a] delay may lead my current supply to finish, and I could die.”
• “I need my dialysis solutions nightly, so not being able to receive them on a timely basis is life or death to me.”

Caregivers further divulged their frustrations about the gaps in coordination in home-based care. Sixty percent of caregivers confirmed they had experienced delays or disruptions that kept their patients from receiving medical equipment or supplies. Fifty-eight percent of caregivers surveyed said receiving unreliable or poor-quality medical supplies has negatively impacted either their lives or the lives of their patients.

Some 53 million unpaid adult American caregivers spend on average 23.7 hours a week providing care, equalling a staggering $600 billion in free labor annually. Although initiatives like the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Biden administration’s recent executive order provide some hope, challenges remain. Addressing care transitions, care coordination, social isolation, physical and emotional strain, and financial distress will require innovative regulation, technology and services.

“The time is now for leaders across the healthcare ecosystem to recognize the vital role that caregivers play and to invest in enabling and supporting them,” said Vijay Kedar, co-founder and CEO of Tomorrow Health. “From clinical teams actively engaging caregivers as members of the care team to health plans providing solutions to augment caregiver efforts to manage and coordinate home-based care, increased awareness and investment will reduce caregiver burnout and improve patient outcomes.”

Download an overview of the results here.