Traditional measures of productivity don’t capture the full story in the care economy.
While care sector productivity is low when you just consider the amount of services provided, when you account for the quality of those services the picture is different.
Adjusted for quality, previous commission research has found productivity in a subset of health care grew by 3% annually between 2011-12 and 2017-18 – far above the market-sector average.
While the quality of our services has improved, demand is rising – along with costs.
Increased demand for care services is being driven by an ageing population, rising chronic health conditions, changing family structures, and increased expectations for quality care and independence.