Medicare covers part-time skilled nursing, wound care, patient education, physical therapy, occupational and speech therapy, and the care of a home health aide, if you are trained. Home health services include medically necessary skilled nursing services, specialized therapies (such as physical therapy, speech-language pathology, and occupational therapy), home health care services, and medical supplies. These services are provided to beneficiaries in any environment in which normal life activities take place, excluding hospitals, nursing facilities or intermediate care facilities for people with intellectual disabilities. Duke Home Health provides services in your home that include skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, social care services, home health aides, and pain and wound treatment. Home Health Help Nursing aides help with personal care while you receive nursing or therapy services.
Home health care provides specialized medical care provided by licensed medical professionals to a person in their own home. Home health care is the term for a wide range of services provided in the home after an injury, illness, or medical procedure. People in a variety of roles provide home health care, including doctors, nurses, therapists, medical social workers, home health aides, and others. Home health care is often less expensive, more convenient, and as effective as the care you receive at a hospital or skilled nursing facility (SNF).
A home health care agency that has a variety of health professionals, such as nurses and therapists, can then provide specialized care under the supervision of a doctor. In most cases, if it's part-time or intermittent, you may be able to receive skilled nursing care and home health care services for up to 8 hours a day (combined), for up to 28 hours a week. You won't be eligible for home health care services if you need more than specialized part-time or intermittent care. Home health professionals are usually not in the home full time and only come when needed to provide services.
Before you start getting home health care, the home health agency must tell you how much Medicare will pay. The parameters of home health care are established by the entity that pays for the services (insurance company, government entity, etc.). Home health care services can be provided in an intermediate care facility for people with intellectual disabilities, but only if the facility does not require you to provide them under subpart I of part 483. It's important to understand how home health care works and how it fits into the care plan of a person recovering from a recurring traumatic injury, illness, or condition to help understand the options available to you or your loved one. When your other home health care needs end, you can continue to receive occupational therapy covered by Medicare under the home health benefit if you need it.
