Home health care provides patients of all ages the care they need to recover from illness, surgery or injury in the comfort of their own homes. Medicare typically covers medically necessary home healthcare services that may be less costly than hospitalization and long-term nursing facility placement.
Home healthcare requires team members to pass background checks and receive special training. In addition, homecare staff must respect patients’ right to privacy and culture when providing home healthcare.
Supportive Services
Home healthcare providers provide various nonmedical services that assist patients in daily activities, such as bathing, grooming, cooking and housekeeping. Furthermore, they may provide social activities and assistance with shopping/appointments/social outings; additionally they can teach how to use adaptive equipment like walkers and wheelchairs effectively.
Medical social workers provide invaluable assistance for patients dealing with emotional or social aspects related to their conditions. They offer counseling services, as well as help them locate community resources to meet their needs.
Cost of home health care varies based on the service type and frequency, covered by Medicare or private insurers; additionally there are various Medicaid home care programs such as Home Attendant and Personal Care Services or Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program.
Skilled Services
Home health care refers to services provided by licensed medical professionals such as nurses and therapists that are prescribed by your doctor to treat or manage illness, injury or medical conditions in your own home.
Medicare-certified home health agencies (CHHAs) provide the most frequent form of home healthcare. To qualify, your physician must sign an official home health certification that states you need intermittent skilled nursing and therapy services at home.
Licensed home care services agencies (LHCSAs) provide non-medical homecare through personal home health aides who assist with bathing, grooming and cooking tasks. Though these providers tend to offer less medically focused assistance than CHHAs, they still must adhere to stringent state and federal regulations in order to deliver high quality services.
Dietary Services
Home healthcare services offer an efficient way of avoiding unnecessary hospital readmissions and keeping patients out of nursing homes, providing cost-effective alternatives to traditional hospital care.
Home care services often include nutritional guidance and home-cooked meals to protect seniors, those living with chronic health conditions and bedridden people from malnutrition. Seniors, people living with an illness and those bedridden are particularly prone to losing lean body mass through poor nutrition.
Private health plans and Medicare Advantage plans often cover home health services as well as some Medicaid programs; check your specific policy to see what’s covered. Home care often brings positive results; however, some seniors may need time to adjust to having someone in their homes who they may not know as much about yet.
Laboratory Tests
Home testing kits allow individuals to screen themselves for conditions without visiting a lab, without incurring costs for medical examination. Results from home kits may help detect diseases like HIV before symptoms appear and encourage people to make healthy lifestyle decisions and seek medical help as soon as possible.
GetLabs offers home healthcare providers an efficient and cost-cutting option by sending mobile phlebotomists into homes to draw blood samples for analysis at labs nearby, which reduces barriers and costs related to testing. This service may help lower barriers while simultaneously cutting costs associated with testing.
At-home laboratory testing is becoming an increasingly popular trend in healthcare, helping increase adherence, close gaps in care and empower patients with information about their own body. Before undertaking an at-home test, however, it’s essential that any potential tests be discussed with your physician first to make sure it’s suitable.
Transportation
As people get older they may no longer be able to drive safely. Home healthcare providers provide transportation services as a supplement, helping seniors get to appointments, visit friends and family and take part in social activities.
Home health agencies and hospitals are joining forces to reduce avoidable hospital readmissions and avoid unnecessary long-term care facility placements, with both efforts providing important benefits for both patients and their families.
Medicare and Medicaid insurance plans typically cover home healthcare costs; private policies vary. Home healthcare providers also frequently provide durable medical equipment like walkers or wheelchairs at no cost to clients and may be able to secure up to 80% of the costs for Medicare-approved items; helping keep costs manageable for seniors who rely on this vital assistance.