No, home health care is very different than home care.
While the two services sound similar (both take place at a patient’s home or residence), home health is managed by licensed medical professionals. Further, the type of care encompassed by home health care covers a myriad of ailments and diseases. Including physical therapy, post-operative care, and treatment of Alzheimer’s, dementia, and chronic health conditions.
What Does “Homebound” Mean?
Home health care is available to any patient who needs it, but in order for it to be covered by Medicare, the patient must be deemed “homebound.”
Homebound simply means that the patient’s condition stops them from being able to safely leave the home without aide from others or devices.
In most cases, patients are still viewed as homebound even if they leave the home as needed for medical treatments. Brief and occasional non-medical absences may also be allowed, such as going to church, the beauty shop, or special family events.
What Are the Benefits of Home Health Care?
The main benefit of home health care for the elderly is that it can be delivered directly to the patient’s residence. Whether it is a private home, adult foster home, assisted living or residential care facility, memory care facility, or long-term nursing home. By delivering care directly to the patient, expensive hospital bills can be avoided.
Family members are encouraged to be active members in the planning process to help set and meet goals, working with home health care aides for the benefit of the patient.
Additional benefits of home health care for seniors include:
- Faster recovery from illness or injury
- Improved independence
- Maintaining or improving the current condition or level of function
- Regaining of self-sufficiency in the home
- Slowing of the decline of serious conditions
- Better symptom management
How Does Home Health Care Work?
The first step toward getting home health care is to get a physician’s orders and work with a home health care company to develop a detailed care plan. From there, you will be asked to complete an initial consultation with the patient. During this, they decide the patient’s needs and develop a plan for treatment. Family members and other caregivers are urged to engage in this planning process to ensure consistent and thorough care.
When services begin, home health care staff will execute the plan. They will follow all physician orders and keep the physician updated about the patient’s progress. The regularity and type of home health visits will vary depending on the patient’s needs. Some patients need daily care while others require only a short visit once or twice per week.
What Does Home Health Care Do for Patients?
Home health care is meant to help the patient rest, recover, and receive treatment in the comfort of their own home. Services given by home health care are offered with the goal of helping the patient regain independence to become as self-sufficient as possible while also managing their disease or condition.
Home health care can benefit both acute and chronic conditions, including but not limited to the following:
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Chronic kidney disease
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Recovery from illness or surgery
- Chronic conditions or injuries
Home health care professionals act as a link between the patient, the patient’s family, and the patient’s doctor. Home health care experts keep a log for each visit and provide updates on the patient’s condition to the doctor as needed. This helps to ensure continuity of care.
What Is a Home Health Aide?
A home health aide is an expert who provides support to patients with special needs. Including those who are disabled, chronically ill, or cognitively impaired. They may also provide services for seniors who require help in the home.
A home health aide may provide services including checking vital signs, assisting with personal health, giving medication, and employing other elements of a physician-prescribed plan of care.
How to Get Home Health Care
There are several ways to apply for home health care, but the first step is to have your doctor decide your condition and draw up a home health care plan. Once you have a physician-prescribed plan, you can contact your health insurance company or work directly with an agency to establish service.
How do we protect your health care privacy?
We understand that your medical data is personal and confidential. We create a medical history of the care you get because it’s our legal obligation. More importantly, we keep records, because we want to provide you with quality care. Please know we are committed to protecting your private medical information from any use for which it was not intended. In short, the law requires us to:
- Keep your medical information private.
- Notify you of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your medical information.
- Follow the terms of the most current notice.
What are Patient Rights?
At Superior Senior Home Care, we believe that you are in control of your health and the decisions about your health. We are passionately committed to supporting your choices. We support a Patient Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.
Knowing your rights and role as a patient will help you make better decisions about your health care. Federal law obligates home care agencies to tell patients of their rights and responsibilities before care is given.
The law ensures an individual getting homecare the right to join in the healthcare decisions that directly affect them.
What is home health care?
“Home care” encompasses a spectrum of healthcare and social services. Home care delivers nursing, therapy, social services, nutritional and personal care support. Superior Senior Home Care provides medical services to help our patients recover from temporary conditions such as a joint replacement or manage more chronic illnesses. Such as diabetes, heart disease, pulmonary disease, or arthritis.
The home is a suitable place to deliver healthcare to those persons who wish to remain independent but have the need for care that is beyond the scope and ability of family and friends to provide. Home care providers deliver highly skilled services in union with modern technology that enables the elderly, chronically ill, disabled and the recuperating patients to get advanced medical treatment in the comfort and privacy of their homes.
Home care is quickly becoming the central focus of delivering healthcare. The home is preferred over institutionalized care. The industry continues to confirm that the home is the most cost-effective place to deliver care.
Superior Senior Home Care offers a complimentary consultation with an advisor to help you determine your loved one’s home care needs. To schedule your free consultation, call 805.430.8767 or contact us online.
