The Largest Unpaid Healthcare Workforce You’ve Never Heard Of Is Going Digital
Description
So just how many caregivers are there?
With some estimates as high as 66 million, informal caregivers may be the largest healthcare work force you’ve never heard of. These caregivers are often invisible female family members – like my mom – providing home-based support for loved ones who have effectively become their patients. Much of this undervalued and sometimes unpaid work equates to a second job for these women who are providing care around their own daily living activities, for over 20 hours per week on average. And to be clear, most are doing more than just cooking for mom – they are changing dressings, reading vitals and administering medication.
This chronic care market represents an opportunity to reduce healthcare spend. If we digitally enable caregivers and patients at home, we ultimately enable doctors and nurses to work to the full capacity of their license.
