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Frequently Asked Questions
Table of Contents
Home health is a service to ill or
recovering individuals needing medical treatment in their
homes. Home health is generally appropriate whenever a person
requires care and prefers to stay home to receive it and it
cannot easily or effectively be provided solely by family and
friends. The home health philosophy is health care at home is
where it should be and is preferred over institutional and/or
hospital settings. Home health is available under a doctor's
supervision for people who are normally unable to leave their
home without assistance and need short-term or intermittent
nursing care. Registered nurses visit the home under the
supervision of the patient's doctor and provide such services
as administrating medications, dressing changes, taking vital
signs and other nursing duties.
No. A nursing home provides 24 hour
care for those people who cannot care for themselves without
help or supervision. Whereas, Home Health Care is normally
periodic, the person can stay or recover at home, their
condition is less severe, and their family can be more
involved in the plan of care.
The main difference is the
environment. Home health is provided in the patient's own
home under their doctor's supervision. Costs are also
different where a hospital stay usually costs more than
having home health.
The average home health client is 65
years of age or older. However, Idaho Home Health cares for
any age, newborn to elderly.
William Rathbone, with the help of
Florence Nightingale, started the modern concept of home
health in 1859 in Liverpool, England. In 1880, the United
States established its first school to train nurses. It was
called the Visiting Nurses Association.
Idaho Home Health benefits are
covered under Medicare (please see question Do I qualify for MEDICARE
home health?). Many health insurance policies
provide home health coverage. Payment can be made from a wide
variety of sources: Medicaid, Champus, Veteran's
Administration, Workmen's Compensation and private pay. If
you need home care services, our staff will work with you and
your insurance company to identify your coverage FREE of
charge. We will individualize a treatment plan, with your
doctor's supervision, in order to maximize your insurance
coverage.
Idaho Home Health is a
Medicare and Medicaid certified agency and strict
requirements must be followed in order to maintain our
certification. We are accredited by JCAHO (Joint Commission
on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations). This is a
voluntary accreditation that sets high standards of care and
evaluates health care organizations against those standards.
Idaho Home Health services can be
initiated with a phone call from the patient's doctor or a
family member. A registered nurse will visit the home and
design a plan of care with the doctor's supervision.
If MEDICARE is your primary health
insurance they will pay 100% of the cost of your care if the
following criteria are met:
A: Home health is ordered by
your physician
B: You need intermittent
skilled nursing and/or physical therapy or speech therapy
(Intermittent means needing a skilled nursing visit at least
once every 60 days.)
C: You are confined to your
home (This means you have a normal inability to
leave your home and if you leave your home it requires a
taxing effort. Occasional absences from the home for
non-medical reasons are allowed as long as the absence is of
short duration and is done infrequently. If you can regularly
leave your home for non-medical reasons you are normally not
eligible for Medicare home health.
Idaho Home Health & Hospice - Notice of Privacy Practices
You may receive a written copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices by contacting our
Privacy Official at the following address:
Privacy Official
Idaho Home Health & Hospice
826 Eastland Drive
Twin Falls, ID 83301
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