By BEN ADEL | Special to the Palisadian-Post
No one plans on a hospital visit, never mind the stress of having to be readmitted. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, one in six people on Medicare gets readmitted to the hospital within 30 days. The truth is, many readmissions might have been avoided.
One of the best steps you or your loved one can take in order to reduce the chance of readmission is to enlist the help of in-home care.
In-Home Care Coordination
Care coordination after a patient is discharged from the hospital involves a team of healthcare workers that might include nurses, physical therapists, social workers, occupational therapists and home health aides, all of whom can be important elements of monitoring a patient’s health.
When in-home health care workers are more involved in a patient’s care, there is more attention to problems that might arise, decreasing the possibility of a preventable emergency.
In-home health care offers the opportunity for you or a loved one to get the care they need at home. Many of us all feel at ease in our own homes, where the familiarity, family and things we love surround us. Feeling comfortable helps patients with their recuperation. Studies have shown that home health visits can reduce the likelihood of hospital readmission by 25%.
Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, “The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program is a Medicare value-based purchasing program that encourages hospitals to improve communication and care coordination to better engage patients and caregivers in discharge plans and, in turn, reduce avoidable readmissions. The program supports the national goal of improving health care for Americans by linking payment to the quality of hospital care.”
Actually, many hospitals and health care facilities face financial penalties under Medicare’s HRRP. So there’s been an improvement in the coordinated effort between the hospital, the primary care physician, and the home health agency or care staff in order to help prevent patients from returning to a hospital.
Giving More Attention With Home Health Care Visits
Typically, a once-a-week doctor visit cannot identify problems that might be recurring with a patient. But the help of in-home care health professionals can aid in monitoring potential issues. The overlap of multi-disciplinary health care workers such as nurses, physical therapists, social workers, occupational therapists and home health aides can help assess the patient and pinpoint any red flags the moment they arise.
A study published in The American Journal of Accountable Care found that home health care lowered the cost as well as the hospital readmission rate: “The study finds that beneficiaries receiving home health care had lower readmission rates (23.7%) compared to beneficiaries receiving hospital care (33%).”
Many people are eligible for home health care as long as they meet certain qualifying conditions. These include:
The patient must be under a plan of care created and reviewed by a doctor.
The patient must be homebound. This means that you or your loved one cannot leave home without considerable effort or without assistance.
The need for in-home care must be certified by a doctor or medical professional (e.g. nurse practitioner) as in need of care.
The certification for in-home care must be recent. No more than 90 days before or 30 days after the start of home health care.
Begin Home Care Services with the Guidance of Your Doctor
After you or an aging loved one is released from the hospital or an acute care facility, taking advantage of multiple components, such as improved communication, coordination efforts from caregivers, engaged post-discharge planning and timely outpatient appointments, can all help to successfully reduce your chance of readmission.
It’s time to consider moving the ongoing healthcare of your senior loved ones into the comfort of their own home, with reliable and compassionate home care and home health care services.
Ben Adel is founder of Luxe Homecare, a Pacific Palisades-based homecare and home health agency with caregivers in Los Angeles, Orange County, and Riverside. They offer round-the-clock support including registered nurses (RN and LVN), Long-Term Care Management and more. Background checks are required for all staff to give you and your loved ones the peace of mind you deserve. Contact the Luxe team at 310-459-3535 or visit luxehomecare.com.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
