Home Care Provides Individualized Service

The benefit of home health care and home care is to provide individualized care plans. Medical professionals work together to deliver to clients the care that is unique to them. Physicians, nurses, home care aides, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists work together delivering personalized care in the home.

Due to social media outlets, health professionals and patients can communicate quicker and more effectively than ever before. Electronic information and orders are legible and takes only seconds to perform. The new technology provides home care with a median to share information and eliminates many delays in inpatient service.

Home Care is Different than Home Health Care

There are two basic types of home care. Home health care focuses on medical needs and home care focuses on physical needs. Medicare and private insurance usually pay for home health care, while home care usually falls under state programs and private pay sources.

The Services Home Care Can Provide

Home care can delay or eliminate the need for nursing facility care. Nurses can set up medications and monitor health conditions on a regular basis. Nurses report adverse findings to the physician making it possible to treat a problem before it spirals out of control. Home care aides can provide assistance in a large number of areas.

Some of the services they provide include transportation, errands, housekeeping, meal preparation, laundry, personal hygiene care, and companionship. If a patient requires 24-hour care, an aide can sit with the client allowing the caregiver to get a break. Caregiver burnout is a serious danger that respite care can help avoid.

Medicare, Private Insurance and Home Health Care

Different pay sources and different states may have a different set of criteria for in-home health care. Home health care paid for by Medicare usually requires patients to have a skilled nursing need with a physician’s order and be homebound. Medicare limits its assistance to professional medical care and personal hygiene assistance.

Private insurance is another pay source. Financial and physical criteria vary with each member’s policy. People in need of help should check with their insurance company to see if they have coverage. Individuals should ask about out of pocket expenses, co-pays, and the maximum amount allowed for home health. Find out what physical criteria your insurance policy requires.

State Programs, Private Pay and Home Care

Many states have programs that pay for home care. Requirements vary from state to state but are similar in nature. Clients must meet their states specific financial requirements. Some require a person to be a nursing home level of care to qualify. Interested parties can go online and locate the criteria for each state.

Many families pay for home care privately. In a nursing facility, the care is uniform for each patient. Home care is a different type of care. Since home care is not uniform, each individual pays only for services that clients need. Home care personnel, the patient and the family work together to design an adequate treatment plan.