Home healthcare

In recent decades, Air Liquide has developed recognized expertise in home healthcare. Capitalizing on its experience in supplying medical gases to hospitals, the Group started by supplying medical oxygen to the homes of patients suffering from respiratory failure. It then extended its services to other respiratory conditions, such as sleep apnea, and other chronic diseases, including diabetes and Parkinson’s disease, which call for highly technical support and regular monitoring.

Improving patient adherence and encouraging effective coordination between healthcare professionals to avoid hospital readmission are two of the main challenges facing home healthcare.

Today, Air Liquide sets itself apart through its ability to ensure comprehensive patient care, combining the implementation of technological equipment with support from multidisciplinary teams made up of pharmacists, nurses, nutritionists, healthcare professionals, and technicians working with the medical community.

The Group also relies on digital technologies to offer innovative e-health solutions, ensuring better patient monitoring and facilitating coordination between stakeholders at the various stages of the healthcare journey.

It also collaborates with start-ups to offer a wider range of value-added services. For instance, in June 2018, Air Liquide purchased EOVE, a French company that has developed a portable connected ventilator that takes into account patients’ mobility needs and helps doctors in their daily work.

This strategy of targeted acquisitions, combined with its scientific expertise, knowledge of the medical world, and proximity with patients, now makes Air Liquide the European leader in home healthcare.

Building on its positioning in Europe, Air Liquide has been developing its home healthcare business for around fifteen years in other areas of the world, such as Asia, the Middle East, and South America. With a presence in 35 countries already, the Group is seeking to diversify its activities by offering value-added services in regions where it already operates. It also targets new countries where it generally makes targeted acquisitions to grow quickly.

Regarding healthcare, the Group is present in 35 countries

South Korea is one example of this strategy. Eight years after it moved into the country, the Group has tripled its sales in home healthcare and is now the ventilation leader in the local market. This success is primarily explained by the Group’s ability to make valuable acquisitions to ensure its long-term growth. After its 2010 acquisition of the South Korean firm, Medions, which specializes in care for heavily ventilated patients in their homes, the Group gradually added to its offering by making three acquisitions to help patients suffering from other chronic diseases.

Each time, the Group makes sure the company it is purchasing shares its values. It focuses on integrating the new teams and encourages expertise pooling. This strategy of targeted acquisitions has allowed it to develop a solid position in the country in just a few years, where it is now a real partner of the healthcare systems. Feedback from the teams at its VitalAire Korea subsidiary was taken into account, contributing to add new rebates to the national healthcare system, including a service designed for patients suffering from sleep apnea.