Increasingly Valuable Home Health Care
Home health care is a rapidly emerging aspect of caring for patients. It allows patients to receive care in a setting that is comfortable for them. Most patients with in-home care say that their recovery period was less stressful compared to a recovery in only a hospital.
Home health care offers a number of services to patients including assistance with:
- Bathing
- Dressing
- Eating or feeding the patient
- Meal preparation
- Medication reminders
- Monitoring a patient’s recovery
- Using the toilet
Some service providers will even run small errands for patients, such as shopping for groceries or transporting the patient to an appointment. If patients have a specific duty that they need done by a caregiver, they should make sure it’s written into any contract that they sign.
Service providers typically visit a patient’s home on a set schedule. The frequency of the visits may vary depending upon the level of care needed. Most patients require care on a daily basis or 3 to 5 times per week. Service providers who are able to visit at night are a popular way to relieve some of the strain on spouse or family caregivers.
Caregivers who live in the patient’s home are an alternative to visiting health service providers. Such caregivers are most commonly used by patients who need around-the-clock care at the end of their life or patients with severely debilitating injuries. However some patients with significant needs may hire a live-in caregiver as well. Live-in caregivers usually only live in a patient’s home for a very short period of time.
Patients considering health care in their home should be aware of:
- Costs
- Medical condition or injury needs
- State requirements
The costs for personalized health care in the home may be high. Although some patients may be eligible for reimbursement from the government or their insurer, it can still be expensive. Patients are paying for the caregiver’s expertise, time, and the personalized attention given.
A patient’s medical condition or injury may determine whether or not they can receive care in their home. For example, most patients with a simple broken arm will not need in-home care. Patients using a home care service typically need more care than a spouse or family member can comfortably provide, but are not so severely injured that they should be in a hospital.
State requirements for a company or individual offering home health services can vary widely. Some states do not require any training or licensing for such providers. This can lead to unqualified people attempting sophisticated medical care. Other states require different levels of licensing depending upon the services provided.
It’s important to understand the service requirements for a health provider in each state and whether or not a patient is protected by the law. Consider asking a local hospital for a short list of companies that they recommend. Although a state board may maintain a list of licensed companies and individuals, there can be hundreds or thousands of entries on each list to sort through.
Not all patients will benefit from treatments in the home. Some may need the specialized equipment or access to medicine that a hospital has. Patients who live in rural areas may also find that there are no companies that cater to in-home patients for their region. Competent service providers may be concentrated in urban areas.
With home health care on the rise, patients who prefer receiving personalized care in their home rather than a hospital can usually be accommodated. Although it may not work for every patient, home care provides patients with the proper medical attention in the comfort of their home.