One of the biggest benefits of home health care is that once services are established, a plan of care can easily be altered to help patients overcome challenges unique to their circumstances.

While home health care is often seen as a long-term support structure, the reality is that the adaptability of home health care makes it ideal for providing short-term support, particularly if a patient is recovering from surgery or similar medical procedures.

How home health care improves post-surgery recovery

Easy hospital discharge and travel

The benefits of post-surgery home health care can begin before a patient even leaves their hospital recovery room. Almost all surgical procedures require that a patient is discharged to the care of a trusted individual, which can include a home health caregiver. This caregiver and the supporting agency can take the lead on travel from the hospital to home, ensuring the patient’s recovery gets off on the right foot. 

A more comfortable, controllable recovery setting

A patient recovering from surgery in a hospital bed, skilled nursing facility, or other clinical setting is subject to the rules and policies of that location. This means that visiting hours, items allowed in a patient’s room, meal times, menus, quiet hours, and room sharing arrangements are out of the patient’s control.

In a home health care setting, the patient is provided complete control over their environment and can focus on their recovery, rather than making the best of their temporary accommodations.

One-on-one support

Recovering in a hospital or similar setting means that patient care will be split among multiple caregivers, who in turn are responsible for multiple patients at any given time. This means patients may need to wait for assistance while other patients receive care. The diffusion of caregiver responsibilities also means that subtle changes in a patient’s condition may go unnoticed or unmentioned when facility caregivers hand the shift off to their relief.

In a home health care setting, communication and care is typically shared between a much smaller core of caregivers, supervisors, and nurses. Additionally, because a home health care patient is the caregiver’s sole responsibility, there is little chance for small but important details to go unnoticed.

When to start planning for short-term home health care

Ideally, the process of building out a recovery plan following surgery should begin as soon as an individual learns they will need to undergo a surgical procedure. Beginning the planning process early allows the patient to take as much time as they need selecting a well-regarded home health care agency and caregivers who they feel they can trust.

From a home health care agency’s point of view, early inquiries allow the administrative team to build out a caregiver schedule that provides adequate coverage on a schedule that is agreeable to the patient and minimizes the number of caregivers needed for the assignment, promoting better continuity of care and overall consistency of service.

When planning for surgery, be sure to work with the hospital’s discharge planner to get a sense of how long recovery typically takes, tasks that may prove difficult or uncomfortable during recovery, and if follow up visits to the hospital, physical therapists, or occupational therapists may be part of the process. With sufficient time and planning, many of these follow up services can be brought into the patient’s home, or facilities near the patient’s home that provide these services can be identified to make attending these appointments easier.

Paying for post-surgery home health care

While short-term home health care presents significant benefits to a patient recovering from surgery, paying for these services may be slightly more complex than in-hospital recovery care. Most standard healthcare plans can cover post-surgery recovery home care, but only if the service has been deemed “medically necessary” by the insurance provider.

One way to make a more compelling case for coverage is by working with either a hospital-based or state-sponsored medical ombudsman. These specialists can help serve as a liaison between medical care providers, patients, and insurance providers, and can assist you in presenting a convincing case for medically-necessary home health care during your recovery.

Medicare Part A recipients can also utilize their coverage to fund in-home skilled nursing services, which can provide assistance with more technically-demanding procedures like wound care and medication management, which can be a valuable support for in-home care during recovery.

Finally, long-term care insurance acquired through employment or private funding can be used to cover the majority, if not all expenses tied to in-home care during surgical recovery. If a patient has access to this coverage, securing an Explanation of Benefits document that lists all coverage conditions is the first step towards finding in-home support that will be covered by an individual’s specific plan.

Our team of home health care experts have helped New Yorkers overcome challenges around post-surgery recovery for 40 years, working with hospital discharge planners, social workers, doctors, and nurses to ensure our clients live happier, healthier lives in their long-time homes.

To learn how SelectCare helps, call us today, request a free in-home care guide, or read firsthand client experiences on our testimonial page.