Home is the best place to recover from an ailment and be happy. The familiar environment, the comfort of sleeping on one’s bed, sitting on own chair and being close to one’s family are some of the advantages of the home care option for patients. The home care model can improve recovery while reducing the costs and the chances of readmissions, reveals a study conducted by a Boston hospital and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Who Should Go for Home Care?
Medical home care is generally recommended for patients who need support in their recovery following a surgery or certain treatment. It can involve medical treatment by medical professionals besides assistance with daily tasks like getting up from bed, bathing, dressing and even eating. The task of home care persons is incredibly important as they need to ensure the well-being of the patient in accordance with the recommendation of the doctors and require good quality home healthcare supplies, say experts at SurgicalSupplies.us.
The growing popularity of home care can be gauged from the fact that the home health care services employ more than 1.4 million people in the US with 135 health workers taking care of people aged 75 and above. According to figures published by statista, the home health expenditure in the US accounts for $97 billion.
Types of Home Care Services
Assistive home care services are also highly suitable for old aged people who require assistance to live independently while managing chronic health issues. Recovery from a medical problem or dealing with any kind of disability is also possible at home with the help of a caretaker and home medical supplies and equipment like a wheelchair or a walker. Professional caregivers like nurses and therapists have the necessary knowledge and experience to provide the required care in the comfort of the patient’s own home.
Three different types of home care services are provided in the US:
- Personal care and companionship: This includes helping a person with his regular daily tasks besides taking care of meals. A person using a wheelchair may require regular help in moving from the chair to the bed and so on. Ensuring that the patient takes his or her medicines on time so as to avoid any kind of complications is an important part of this services. Again people with dementia or Alzheimer’s may require constant company.
- Private nursing care: This is for patients with chronic health issues, injuries or any kind of disabilities. This may require the purchase or hiring of specialized healthcare equipment to monitor the health of the patient on a regular basis. Regular monitoring of sugar, blood pressure and pulse rate form part of this service.
- Home health care: This involves taking care of a patient in accordance with the instructions given by a physician to help a patient recover from an illness or an injury. This again requires the purchase of specific home health care supplies and equipment that may aid in providing speech therapy, physical therapy or any other assistance.
Home care is a growing industry with more and more patients opting to stay at home and not in a hospital surrounded by several other patients.