1.1 Introduction

Home medical assistance is a market in the health industry. In order to help patients thrive at home, health service providers have gradually expanded their services by visiting patients and developing a range of home support services.

Home health care or home medical assistance is the treatment provided to patients in their homes and generally involves the use of medical equipment. However, it is important to distinguish between home medical assistance (home care) from home hospitalization (otherwise known as the home hospitalization program), the second requiring more intensive care.

In general, home medical assistance aims to help people 3 types of patients following:

Patients with disabilities or chronic diseases (such as those requiring recurrent treatment);
The elderly who can live at home but need regular monitoring of their health status;
Patients recovering from an accident or injury and who require physiotherapy (EA) or regular occupational therapy.

The German market has been growing rapidly, at a CAGR of 2.8% from 2010 to 2020, and it is expected to continue on this trend in the following years. It is mainly driven by the ageing population and increasing of long-term conditions which require comprehensive, continuous care.
As demand increases, the government has faced the issue of understaffed nursing homes and hospitals by implementing provisions in order to appropriately care for the elderly.

1.2 Key figures of the world market

In Europe, market growth is driven by public policy support and the development of healthcare infrastructure. Rising healthcare costs and increasing government initiatives (***) have made home healthcare more affordable for the population, thereby driving the market growth.

Globally, it was valued at *** billion in ****, according to Grand View Research, and is ...

1.3 The German home healthcare market

Germany has a highly developed and innovative health industry and ranks third after the United States and Japan. German industry stands out in particular in the fields of health technology, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.

This can also be observed by comparing German expense on patient care with the EU average one. ...

1.4 Covid Impact

The coronavirus outbreak has affected the market in several ways. The people involved in the home healthcare market are by definition the most vulnerable to the virus, therefore, countries had to develop appropriate responses to protect them.

From a human point of view, the situation had major consequences for caregivers and ...

2.1 Determinants of demand

The main driver of the home healthcare market is clearly the progressive seniorization of the population, a trend that has been a constant of the last decades in the countries of the Western world. Germany is among the first countries in Europe for a percentage of the population over **, and the ...

2.2 Market trends

The health industry in Germany is traditionally very strong and competitive worldwide, and as such paves the way for innovation. Thus, these general characteristics also affect the home care segment and influence trends in this market.

The trends in the German home healthcare market can be summarised in three main aspects: ...

2.3 Pathologies leading to home-care needs

In Germany there are around * million patients who receive homecare services. The two largest areas are wound treatment and pressure ulcer prophylaxis (***).

Breakdown of the pathologies of home care patients Germany, ****, in % Source: Pflegemarkt

The number of enteral nutrition supplies is *.* million patients and parenteral nutrition *.* million patients. In ...

2.4 The boom of assisted living

When talking about assisted living, in German Betreutes Wohnen, we are referring to a form of living for senior citizens in old age alongside classic nursing home accommodation or outpatient care at home. This way of living enables people with special needs to live independently and, depending on their individual needs, ...

3.1 Market structure

Health insurance in Germany is compulsory and therefore offers almost universal coverage. The German medical system is divided into public social health insurance (***), and there are many criteria to determine who is insured. Employees typically have insurance at SHI, but people whose income exceeds a fixed threshold or belongs to a ...

3.2 Providers of home care devices

Homecare consists of a service and of multiple devices, especially in long-term care scenarios.

Device providers can be medical supply stores, pharmacies, medical retailers or the industry, or the manufacturers of the products themselves.

Since the supply of products is always closely related to the provision of assistance-related services, the supply ...

3.3 Shortage of medical staff and home care workers

In ****, according to the OECD, the number of home medical staff for long-term care in Germany was just under * per *** people over ** years of age, which places it among the countries with the lowest density of home medical staff.

To address the supply shortage, government measures have been put in place ...

4.1 An overview of prices

The home healthcare market includes a wide range of products (***) and services. This means that prices in this market vary depending on the equipment and services required for the patient's condition. Nevertheless, the Commonwealth organization believes that home medical assistance can help to reduce the costs of the same treatment in ...

4.2 Products and services

As explained before, the home healthcare market is mainly made up of products and services.

The products on the market can be segmented into:

Home diagnosis and monitoring devices; Therapeutic devices for home care; Home mobility devices Medical supplies.

Home diagnosis and monitoring devices consist of products of testing, screening, and ...

4.3 Innovation

Innovation and e-health

Germany's technological tradition has already reached the home healthcare market and is increasingly accepted by the population. In ****, investments in e-health amounted to *** million euros and in the medium term are expected to increase by **% per year. Innovations in software and equipment for home medical care are not ...

5.1 Regulations in force

Germany operates on the basis of an insurance system, with health professionals working for private companies for-profit. In the German health system, hospitals are companies, often owning hospital chains and related ambulatory and aftercare services. However, Germany has a public regulated health insurance system. German legal regulations directly influence the home ...

5.2 Covid-related regulations

The Krankenhauszukunftsgesetz (***), or Hospital Future Act, brings about legal changes for family carers and those in need of care. It was passed by the Bundestag on September **, **** and does not require the consent of the Bundesrat.

It has been written in order to support people in need during this time of ...

6.1 Segmentation of actors

The German market for home medical assistance is a heterogeneous market: it includes large high-tech companies but also of small and medium-sized care and assistance companies. As this market involves a diversified range of products and services depending on the patient's situation, this difference within the segment is understandable.

In addition, ...