Acute care industry eyes the post-acute market

As 2014 opens, we look toward some trends in the home care and hospice market and find that it, like most provider segments, is being reshaped by the march toward accountable care.

“As we go toward the accountable care world, all of a sudden entities that might have been primarily acute care centers are saying ‘now I have to worry about cradle to grave – the continuity of care for some … populations,’” said Jeff Bistrong, managing director at middle-market investment bank Harris Williams. “‘Now things like preventive care upfront and post-acute care become a bigger part of my mission.’”

With a focus on providing a continuum of care, acute care organizations are beginning to get into the home care and hospice markets, said Bistrong.

These acute care providers are entering a field in which smaller home care and hospice providers have been steadily acquired by larger home care and hospice providers – a trend that Bistrong expects will continue in 2014.

But as acute care providers figure out how they will reconfigure themselves to provide a continuum of care, he expects they’ll become more aggressive in the home care and hospice market.

And as more acute care providers enter the market, a corollary is developing, Bistrong said. Larger IT solutions companies that have traditionally been outside the home care and hospice technology market are beginning to purchase smaller IT companies that are providing technology solutions to the home care and hospice markets. These larger IT solutions companies, he said, want to be able to offer comprehensive technology solutions to acute care providers are they begin providing continuum of care services.