Home health care.. today and the future of medical care.

Home health care.. today and the future of medical care         

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home health care

Our needs are changing every day, and nowadays we all prefer staying safely at home due to COVID-19 so home health care has become more popular than before but do you know all the information you need about it?           

statistics of home health care compared to hospital care are at the side of home health care.           

According to the cost, In recent studies in the journal of general internal medicine  home health care costs were 52% less than ordinary hospital care.             

 Homecare is a rapidly growing field since The Expected percentage of older people in Egypt may reach 8.7% in 2025 and will reach 15% by 2050.           
 

What does home health care mean?           

 

Home health care is a wide range of health care services that can be given in your home for an illness or injury.           

It’s usually less expensive, more convenient, and just as effective as hospital care or a skilled nursing facility.           

It became popular with COVID-19 as it provides you with infection protection, privacy, and low price as well.           

 

Types of home health care           

 

Home health care can provide all care that you may need like:           

  • Doctor care:           
  • You can choose a doctor visit or via online consultation depending on the client’s condition and severity of the case.           
  • Nursing care:           

There are many types of nursing according to the patient’s requirement for example:           

  1. Certified nursing assistant           
  2. Licensed practical nurse.           
  3. A registered nurse and surgical assistant registered nurse.           
  4. Home care registered nurse            
  5. Emergency nurse           
  6. Labor and delivery nurse           
  7. Clinical nurse supervisor and, etc.           

It's the most common form of home health care.           

The experienced nurse will follow up with the patient under the supervision of doctors and the nurse will set up a plan of care.           

The home health care nurse also can provide other services as:           

  • Wound dressing.           
  • Intravenous therapy.            
  • Administering medications.           
  • Monitoring general health of the patient.           
  • Pain control to reach a minimal level.           
  • Psychological support.  
  •           
  • Physical, occupational, or speech therapy:           
  • Relearning how to perform daily duties or improving speech after an illness or injury.           
  • A physical therapist.           
  • An occupational therapist can help the patient with any type of disability.           
  • A speech therapist can help patients with impaired speech regain. 
  •            
  •   therapeutic nutrition programs:           

Dietitians can come to the patient’s home to provide dietary assessments and guidance.  

           

  • Laboratory and X-Ray imaging:           

Blood and urine tests can be performed in the comfort of the patient’s home.           

Portable X-Ray machines allow lab technicians to perform this service at home. 

           

  •  psychological consultation and support           

Psychological support during the treatment journey can affect the recovery rate incredibly and if this support is done at home, its effect will be duplicated especially if the support is applied by a professional person.  

         

What are the benefits of home health care? 

There are many reasons to you to choose home health care as:           

  • More comfortable to the patient, convenient, and safe.           

Research shows that the recovery percent while applying home health care is higher than that at hospitals.           

  • More privacy.           

Patients receive one-on-one attention and a care plan that is tailored to their specific needs.           

  • Quality is better because you are the only person who is cared about.           

The patient is under the supervision of highly experienced medical staff so he receives the right care.           

  • Less price.           

Avoiding unnecessary trips to the hospital saves money.           

Home health care is also preventing the need for intensive care or at least delaying it due to strict follow-up.           

  • Greater safety for frail elders             

as they will have fewer of the common complications of hospitalization.           

  • Access to health care is most relevant to patients with physical and socioeconomic barriers.           
  • Relief for family caregivers.           

Home health aides can help with bathing, dressing, and other daily tasks and this relieves some of the burdens on family caregivers.           

  • Wide range of services.           
  • Companionship.           

In addition to receiving visits from the home health care team, it's easier for friends and relatives to visit the patient at home with no time restriction or set visiting hours that can improve the patient’s psychological status and also reduce the time needed for recovery.           

           
 

How to choose the best home health care agency?           

To choose the best agency for home health care you need to know some points that will help your choice as;           

Choose a certified agency           

Certification means that the agency meets the requirement for medical care.           

  1. Staff credentials           

Home health care teams should include professionals with licenses and certifications appropriate to their field, this helps ensure your safety and quality of the service.           

  1. Reputation and history           

A strong reputation and the good history of the agency and good reviews from previous clients can help a lot in choosing the best agency that can provide the best quality services.           

  1. Availability           

 Find out if the staff are on-call 24 hours a day and that will help you avoid going to the hospital and improve access to care in an emergency.           

  1. Breakdown of the cost           

You can ask about the cost of the service to choose the most suitable agency for you and if the agency accepts insurance plans.           

  1. Accreditation            

Accreditation of home health care agencies by a recognized accrediting agency means more and continuous improvement of service quality.           


 

Conclusion           

Home health care is nowadays the best choice for all of us for our safety and it's the future of world health care so we have to start the application of home health care as far as we can to walk step by step with world development and it's a good trial to reduce infection rate and so help us more to keep our loved persons in safety and comfort place that they love.           

written by: dr. Asmaa Azab.
 

References            

Ankota

axiscare sale

medicare

ncbi