Home health care allows a patient to receive medical assistance at home rather than in a hospital. It can be more comfortable for the patient, which can help the healing process advance more quickly. Home health care is generally less expensive than staying in a hospital and it allows the patient to focus on regaining independence in the location where the patient will be living after completing treatment.
Get to Know the Type of Therapy Needed
Many home health care treatments involve some form of ongoing therapy. Your illness or injury may require the services of a physical therapist, who will visit your home and guide you through a regimen of strength building exercises. People who have suffered from strokes could benefit from speech therapy in a home setting. An occupational therapist can help the patient learn to discover new strengths and skills that would lead directly to finding gainful employment, regardless of the extent of the illness or injury. All of these therapists would visit the patient’s home a few times a week for a few hours to provide support and medical attention in order to promote healing.
Type of Health Care Specialists
Not all home health care involves therapy. Some patients are recovering from severe illness or injury and may require consistent medical care. Registered nurses are available for home health care visits for patients who need an extra level of care. These nurses could stay with the patient for a few hours a day or you may need them for several hours each day. The nurse will help with intravenous feeding, getting the patient into and out of bed, dressing wounds, and will monitor the patients overall health during the recovery.
Recommended Research When Choosing a Home Health Provider
Since a home health care specialist will be visiting your home on a regular basis, it is important to find someone who will provide the kind of service that would be the most beneficial. Before you hire a home health specialist, you should look into the reputation of the home health service you are planning to use. Compare the ways different services prepare their employees and how well they communicate with family members. Ask about the supervision of home health care employees and what each service expects the employees to document and share with the family. It is also important to learn about the financial expectations of each service before you sign up.
Checking a Provider’s References
A good home health care provider or service should be able to provide you with a list of references from previous jobs. Call the people on the reference list and ask them specific questions about the provider. Find out about the feedback that patients and their families have given. Ask if the reference has a financial connection to the provider. Check to see if the provider is held to specific standards of care through a written contract. You can also ask the reference if he or she knows any providers who have dealt with problems similar to yours, and if so, ask the reference to put you in contact with those provider.
Jessica Bosari writes about health issues for TherapistSchools.com. Students go to the website looking for information and resources on health care education such as group therapy salaries or finding the best group therapist school.