Home healthcare services refers to care provided in one’s own home by non-medical caregivers or skilled professionals, whether that is helping with bathing and running errands or providing medically necessary wound care.
Medicare may cover this expense. The best way to determine whether Medicare could pay is to reach out to your local Area Agency on Aging for advice.
Personalized Care
Home healthcare patients receive care in their own homes from registered nurses or licensed therapists who work collaboratively with both patient and family to devise an individualized home healthcare plan.
Plan can aid in the reduction of unplanned hospital readmissions, leading to improved health outcomes and creating a positive experience for consumers.
Personalization in healthcare is an emerging trend, including predictive technologies that identify patients at risk of readmission and engage them through targeted interventions and reminders aimed at improving overall experience and lowering costs of care. The aim is to enhance both patient experience and reduce costs in order to deliver superior healthcare experiences at lower costs.
Supportive Care
Home healthcare allows patients to recover surrounded by family, friends and neighbors – an environment which may speed recovery while restoring independence.
Nurses and physical therapists provide home health services under licensed medical plans; such as private long-term care insurance plans that cover this service.
Crozer provides home healthcare to hospital dischargees referred by their physician, often shortening or eliminating hospital stays altogether and delaying nursing home placement. Our programs may reduce or even avoid hospital stays for many clients and postponing nursing home placement.
Skilled Care
Home health care provides patients with medically necessary nursing and therapy services that are delivered directly into their homes, adult foster homes, residential communities or assisted living communities.
Home healthcare may be less costly than hospitalization and may be covered under Medicare Part A or B, as well as helping avoid hospitalization and long-term care facility placement.
For patients to qualify for home health care services, their physician must certify they are homebound and need intermittent skilled nursing and/or home health aide services. Their care plan must then be reviewed every 60 days for certification purposes; face-to-face meetings may not always be necessary.
Dietary Care
Home health agencies can arrange for dietitians to provide nutritional care for homebound patients. Dietitians provide advice and teach patients how to cook healthy meals in order to prevent avoidable hospital readmissions that often occur among seniors and chronically ill individuals, while increasing nutrition intake while decreasing wasted food waste. Home healthcare providers may even deliver meals directly to homebound individuals – another invaluable service offered by these agencies.
Laboratory Tests
Home testing kits can detect conditions like high cholesterol and sexually transmitted diseases, as well as help monitor health and motivate individuals to make healthier lifestyle decisions.
Once upon a time, medical laboratories were the only solution for these tests. Now home testing companies such as EverlyWell and GetLabs offer at-home lab test kits for thyroid levels and vitamin D levels as well as screening services for sexually transmitted infections (STI).
These tests may provide convenient alternatives to traveling to a clinic or physician’s office for testing; however, they cannot completely replace traditional lab tests in terms of accuracy.
Transportation
Finding transportation can be challenging for those without access. Luckily, home healthcare services provide additional transportation. A caregiver will drive you directly to and from your medical appointment – and even stay with you during it if necessary!
Transportation services provided by agencies can increase revenue while helping clients keep medical appointments on schedule. Some home care agencies, like Right at Home and 24Hr HomeCare, partner with Lyft and Uber to schedule rides for their patients – and leverage existing business relationships with hospitals and other community partners through these partnerships.