How Future Healthcare Technology Is Elevating At-Home Care: Global Report [2026]

In recent years, we have witnessed significant changes in healthcare technology, with telehealth and the AI revolution being the primary drivers of this transformation. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s tweet on December 2022 is widely considered a defining moment in the AI revolution. Over the past three years, AI has played a major role in accelerating technological advancements.

The Future of Healthtech 2025 report from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) found that after adopting ambient AI documentation, 75% of healthcare providers reported improved work efficiency in 2024, compared to 69% the previous year. Most providers also stated that they spent less time managing electronic health records at home and experienced lower levels of burnout. When administrative tasks are reduced, healthcare professionals can focus more on patient care and extend their services beyond hospitals into patients’ homes.

Whether it is measuring blood pressure at home through a smartwatch, checking blood sugar levels using a home glucose monitoring kit, or tracking oxygen levels with an oximeter, healthcare technology has brought revolutionary changes to home care. In this article, we will explore how future healthcare technology is set to elevate home care to the next level in the coming years, especially as the era of artificial intelligence has only just begun.

The U.S. Home Healthcare Market: Size, Growth, and Why It Matters

The United States stands at the center of a massive transformation in healthcare delivery. As costs rise and the population ages, care is shifting from hospitals and clinics into the place where patients feel most comfortable: their homes.

The global home healthcare market was valued at $416.4 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $747.70 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.21%. Notably, North America dominated the global market with a revenue share of over 42.47% in 2024, with the U.S. holding the largest share in the region.^[1]

McKinsey estimates that up to $265 billion worth of care services for Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries could shift from traditional facilities to the home. This represents a three- to fourfold increase in the amount of care currently delivered at home for this population.

The shift is being driven by a perfect storm of factors: an aging population, rising healthcare costs, patient preference for home-based care, and the rapid adoption of digital health tools. As the U.S. healthcare system faces financial strain with industry EBITDA falling from 11.2% of national health expenditures in 2019 to 8.9% in 2024, according to McKinsey’s 2026 healthcare outlook home care offers a more cost-efficient model that benefits patients, providers, and payers alike.

U.S. Home Healthcare Market Snapshot

Key Technologies Transforming At-Home Care

The transformation of home care is not driven by a single technology but by a convergence of innovations that make it possible to deliver hospital quality care in the comfort of a patient’s living room. Here are the major technologies reshaping at home care in the United States and the key reasons globally why future healthcare technology is elevating at home care.

Telehealth and Virtual Care

Telehealth experienced an unprecedented surge during the COVID-19 pandemic. Medicare visits conducted through telehealth rose from approximately 840,000 in 2019 to over 52.7 million in 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While utilization has stabilized since the pandemic peak, telehealth has firmly established itself as a permanent feature of American healthcare.

For at-home care, telehealth eliminates geographic barriers. A senior in rural Montana can now consult a specialist in New York City without leaving their home. This is particularly critical in the U.S., where approximately 20% of the population lives in rural areas that historically face severe provider shortages.

Telehealth is especially impactful for chronic disease management, mental and behavioral health consultations, post-surgical follow-ups, and primary care visits. McKinsey’s research suggests that 30% to 40% of additional Medicare spending on outpatient mental and behavioral health could be delivered at home through telehealth.^[2]

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)

Remote patient monitoring uses connected devices to collect and transmit patient health data to healthcare providers in real time. This includes wireless blood pressure monitors, smart glucose meters for diabetics, pulse oximeters, and heart rhythm monitors.

RPM is transforming chronic disease management in the United States. For conditions like congestive heart failure, COPD, diabetes, and hypertension, continuous monitoring can detect warning signs before they escalate into emergency room visits or hospital readmissions. The Mayo Clinic, for example, used RPM for ambulatory management of COVID-19 patients and found a 78.9% engagement rate, with only 11.4% requiring 30-day emergency department visits.^[2]

AI-Powered Diagnostics and Documentation

Artificial intelligence is reshaping both the clinical and administrative sides of at-home care. On the administrative side, the SVB Future of Healthtech 2025 report reveals that AI in provider operations is now the dominant driver of healthtech investment, accounting for 44% of total sector investment in 2025, up from 19% in 2021.

Ambient AI documentation tools are particularly transformative. These tools listen to patient-provider conversations and automatically generate clinical notes, reducing the time clinicians spend on electronic health records. The SVB report found that 75% of healthcare providers reported improved work efficiency after adopting ambient AI documentation in 2024. Additionally, about 46% of hospitals and health systems now use AI in their revenue cycle management operations.

On the clinical side, AI-powered diagnostic tools can analyze data from wearable devices, flag abnormal patterns, and alert clinicians to potential health issues before they become emergencies. AI-enabled image triaging, risk adjustment, and clinical decision support systems are maturing rapidly, though adoption of higher-risk clinical AI tools remains more cautious than administrative applications.

Wearable Health Devices and IoT

Wearable health devices have moved from fitness tracking to serious medical monitoring. Modern smartwatches can detect irregular heart rhythms (atrial fibrillation), measure blood oxygen levels, track sleep quality, and even perform basic electrocardiograms (ECGs).

For at-home care, wearables provide continuous passive monitoring that would be impossible in a traditional clinical setting. A patient recovering from heart surgery can wear a device that continuously monitors their heart rate and alerts their care team if anything appears abnormal, all without scheduling a single office visit.

The Internet of Things (IoT) extends this further by connecting multiple devices in the home environment. Smart pill dispensers that remind patients to take medications, connected scales that track fluid retention in heart failure patients, and environmental sensors that detect falls are all part of the growing IoT ecosystem in home healthcare.

Smart Home Integration for Healthcare

Voice-activated assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home are finding new roles in healthcare. They can remind patients to take medications on schedule, help seniors contact emergency services through voice commands, and even guide patients through prescribed exercises or physical therapy routines.

Smart home automation enhances safety for elderly patients and those with mobility challenges. Automated lighting prevents falls by ensuring well-lit pathways, smart thermostats maintain optimal recovery environments, and connected security systems provide an additional layer of protection. For families with aging loved ones, these technologies offer peace of mind while supporting independent living at home.

Technology Comparison: Home Care Tools at a Glance

The following table provides a side-by-side comparison of the key technologies driving at-home care innovation:

The Hospital-at-Home Revolution: From the U.S. to the World

One of the most transformative developments in modern healthcare is the rise of hospital-at-home (HaH) programs. These programs allow patients who would traditionally require inpatient hospital care to receive acute treatment in their own homes, supported by remote monitoring, telehealth visits, and in-person nursing care. What began as an experimental concept at Johns Hopkins University in 1995 has now evolved into a global movement reshaping healthcare delivery across continents.

The U.S. Leading the Way

In the United States, hospital-at-home gained mainstream traction during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver, allowing hospitals to receive Medicare reimbursement for qualifying home-based acute care. Since then, the program has expanded to over 300 hospitals across the country.^[3][4]

The results have been impressive. Advocate Health, for example, has served more than 16,500 patients through its HaH program, avoiding over 60,000 inpatient bed days. Their 2024 readmission rate for HaH patients was 0.93, outperforming the traditional hospital rate of 1.09, with significantly higher patient satisfaction scores. Mass General Brigham has built one of the nation’s largest home hospital programs, serving over 80% of eligible patients across five hospitals.^[5]

According to The Commonwealth Fund, hospital-at-home programs enable patients to receive acute care with fewer complications and over 30% reduction in the cost of care compared to traditional inpatient stays. McKinsey estimates that up to $265 billion worth of care services for Medicare beneficiaries could shift from traditional facilities to the home, with acute care being one of the key service categories ripe for scaling.^[6]

Global Adoption: Learning from International Pioneers

While the U.S. has rapidly scaled hospital-at-home in recent years, several countries have been running these programs for decades, offering valuable lessons for the global healthcare community.

Australia: Australia is a global leader in hospital-at-home. In Victoria, every metropolitan and regional hospital operates a HaH program, and roughly 6% of all hospital bed-days are provided through at-home care. The country’s new Support at Home program, launching in July 2025, replaces the existing Home Care Packages system with an expanded eight-level framework and an additional 83,000 care packages—the largest home care package delivery on record.^[6]

United Kingdom: The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has embraced “virtual wards” as its version of hospital-at-home. These programs use remote monitoring technology to allow patients to receive acute and step-down care at home while being monitored by clinical teams. The NHS has set ambitious targets to expand virtual ward capacity across England, Scotland, and Wales, driven by the need to reduce pressure on overcrowded hospitals and lengthy waiting lists.^[7]

Spain: Spain was one of the earliest adopters of hospital-at-home in Europe. Spanish health systems have integrated HaH into their standard care delivery models for decades, treating conditions ranging from heart failure to respiratory infections at home. The model has demonstrated strong outcomes in reducing hospital-acquired infections and improving patient satisfaction.

Israel: Israel has developed a well-established hospital-at-home ecosystem supported by its universal healthcare system. The model benefits from strong government readiness and a culture of healthcare innovation. Israeli HaH programs have shown non-inferior and even superior patient outcomes compared to traditional inpatient care.

Canada: Canada’s single-payer healthcare system has supported hospital-at-home programs that reduce strain on overcrowded hospitals, particularly for elderly patients with chronic conditions. Programs across provinces are expanding to include more acute care services delivered in the home setting.^[8]

How Government Policies and Healthcare Reforms Are Accelerating At-Home Care Globally

Government policy is a critical accelerator of at-home care across the world. While each country’s regulatory landscape is unique, a common thread unites them: the recognition that home-based care is more cost-effective, patient-preferred, and increasingly technology-enabled.

United States: Medicare, Medicaid, and the CMS Framework

In the U.S., Medicare and Medicaid are the largest payers for home health services. Recent CMS regulatory changes are expanding what can be delivered and reimbursed at home. The Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver has allowed hundreds of hospitals to provide acute care at home, while site-neutral payment policies are reducing the financial advantage of facility-based care.

According to THL, personal care spending in the U.S. already exceeds $90 billion, funded primarily through Medicaid. As states expand Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) waivers, more Americans gain access to home-based care options.

However, challenges remain. McKinsey’s 2026 healthcare outlook warns that Medicaid enrollment is declining due to regulatory changes and expiration of pandemic-era protections. SVB data shows the number of uninsured Americans rose to 27 million in 2024, with projections suggesting an additional 14 million could lose coverage over the next decade. Federal policy changes like the Rural Health Transformation Program are creating new funding opportunities for technology deployment, but the overall landscape remains complex.

United Kingdom: NHS Virtual Wards and Digital Health Strategy

The UK’s NHS has placed digital health and virtual wards at the center of its long-term strategy. The NHS Long Term Plan emphasizes moving care closer to home through remote monitoring, telehealth, and community-based services. The European Health Data Space (EHDS) regulation, adopted in 2024, is also expected to improve health data interoperability across EU and UK systems, enabling better cross-border care coordination and advancing digital health infrastructure.

Australia: The Support at Home Reform

Australia’s new Support at Home program, effective July 2025, represents one of the most ambitious home care reforms globally. Replacing the existing Home Care Packages system, it introduces eight levels of care (up from four), expanded short-term restorative care pathways, and a record allocation of 107,000 packages over two years. The reform follows recommendations from Australia’s Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and reflects the country’s commitment to enabling older Australians to age in place.

India: Digital Health Mission and Emerging Infrastructure

India’s Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) is laying the foundation for a nationwide digital health ecosystem. While India’s home healthcare market is still developing compared to Western nations, it is expected to register one of the highest growth rates globally. Companies like Apollo Homecare, Star Health, and Lifetime Health (which raised $1.5 million in 2024 for personalized care platforms) are driving adoption. The integration of telemedicine and affordable monitoring devices is making home care increasingly accessible across urban and semi-urban India.

China, Japan, and South Korea: Asia-Pacific’s Rapid Growth

Asia-Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing region for home healthcare, with a CAGR of 10.1% through 2030. Japan’s super-aged population (nearly 30% of citizens are 65+) is driving massive demand for home-based elder care and monitoring technologies. China’s population aged 60 and above reached approximately 297 million in 2023, and the government is actively investing in telemedicine infrastructure and home healthcare expansion. South Korea is launching initiatives to promote home healthcare as part of its broader digital health strategy.^[9][10]

Europe: Germany, France, and the EU Digital Health Framework

European countries like Germany and the UK are deliberately shifting care to the home to reduce hospital risk and costs. Germany’s healthcare system, with its mix of public and private insurance, is increasingly covering home healthcare services and telehealth. France offers a combination of home hospitalization (“hospitalisation à domicile”) programs that have been operating for years. The EU’s adoption of the European Health Data Space regulation in 2024 is expected to accelerate digital health adoption and data sharing across member states, creating a more integrated home care ecosystem continent-wide.

Country-Wise Adoption of Home Healthcare Technology: A Global Snapshot

The following table offers a comparative snapshot of home healthcare technology adoption across major countries:

The global picture is clear: the shift from facility-based care to technology-enabled home care is not just an American phenomenon—it is a worldwide movement driven by demographic inevitability, economic necessity, and technological possibility. Countries that invest early in digital health infrastructure, supportive policy frameworks, and workforce development will be best positioned to deliver better, more affordable, and more accessible care to their populations in the coming decade.

Real-World Impact: How Patients Benefit from At-Home Technology

Behind the data and technology are real people whose lives are being transformed by at-home care innovations.

Consider a patient like “Bernadette”—a hypothetical case study described by McKinsey. She is a 75-year-old woman with coronary artery disease, COPD, and diabetes, living with her husband and facing limited mobility. Under a traditional care model, a heart attack would likely mean a hospital stay followed by transfer to a skilled nursing facility. Under a technology-enabled home care model, she could be evaluated by a physician, sent home, and supported by an assigned nurse, a care manager, daily telehealth visits, remote patient monitoring, and community-based meal delivery.

This type of comprehensive home care is not just more convenient—it often produces better outcomes. Research consistently shows that patients treated at home experience lower readmission rates, higher satisfaction, and better quality of life compared to those in institutional settings.

For families, the benefits are equally profound. Technology provides transparency and peace of mind. A daughter living across the country can receive real-time updates on her elderly father’s blood pressure readings. A spouse can be alerted instantly if a fall is detected. The emotional and practical burden of caregiving is reduced when technology fills in the gaps.

Challenges and Barriers to Adoption

Despite the enormous potential of technology-driven home care, several challenges remain, particularly in the United States.

The Future Roadmap: What to Expect from 2025 to 2030

Based on data from McKinsey, SVB, THL, Grand View Research, and other leading sources, here is what we can expect for at-home care technology in the coming years: