Home Health Care Services Include Nursing Care

Rent a Daughter services are a system of medical care provided in patients’ homes by nurses, physical therapists and home health aides under the supervision of a physician. Typically, doctors order home health care to assist with recovery from illness or injury, to provide short-term rehabilitation, and to maintain a patient’s health and independence at home.

Home care services can be provided either by home health agencies or by family members. Physicians may refer their patients for home health care, or patients can request the service themselves. Home health care can help reduce the need for hospitalization and/or prevent a patient from being admitted to long-term care institutions.

Depending on the physician’s orders, home health care services can include nursing care; physical therapy or occupational therapy; speech-language therapy; and medical social work. In some cases, home health care can also involve the provision of medications, equipment and supplies.

It’s often difficult to accept that a loved one needs home health care, especially as it becomes necessary to move from familiar surroundings into an apartment, assisted living facility or nursing home. However, a little advance planning can make the transition much less stressful and potentially prevent the need for more drastic steps in the future.

The first step toward receiving home health care is a face-to-face visit with your doctor to determine if you meet the criteria for Medicare-certified home healthcare:

You must be “homebound” to receive home health care, which means that leaving the house requires a major effort and could worsen your condition. This also includes being unable to leave without assistance from others or the use of devices like canes, walkers, crutches or wheelchairs. However, you can still be considered homebound if you leave the house only occasionally for brief periods to attend religious services or special family events.

The specialized skills of home health care personnel can play an important role in reducing unplanned hospital admissions, and some studies have shown that interdisciplinary team-based models improve outcomes in high-risk patient populations.

But it’s important to remember that home health care only covers skilled services that are prescribed or recommended by a physician. It does not cover non-medical care, which can be covered by personal home care assistance or by private pay or insurance.

NAP