Home Health Care FAQs

Home health care provides medical treatment for an illness or injury, with the goal of helping you recover, regain your independence and become as self-sufficient as possible. More than just providing excellent care in your home, home health care also saves billions of dollars each year. There is no more cost-effective provider of health care in our country.

Amedisys Home Health Care offers health care services such as skilled nursing, home health aides, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. We can also offer specialized chronic care programs that focus on actively involving you in your health care process, addressing conditions including:

• heart disease
• diabetes
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• pain management
• wound care
• infusion therapy
• oncology
• chronic kidney disease
• psychiatric services

On the first visit, a nurse or therapist will conduct an initial evaluation. At Amedisys, this thorough interview and evaluation is part of our coordinated approach to managing your overall health status. Our evaluation focuses on educating you in self-care management and partners with your doctor to promote disease prevention and proactive care – which includes the family or caregivers.

This team approach facilitates an easier transition for you from a hospital or nursing facility to your home, and actively engages you and your caregivers in your health care.

Yes. After your doctor refers you to Amedisys Home Health Care, an Amedisys clinician will come to your home to assess your needs. We will communicate with your doctor to discuss the assessment and work together to develop your personal plan of care. Amedisys Home Health Care staff will implement your physician-ordered plan of care and keep your doctor updated about your progress. If your condition or needs change, we’ll collaborate with your doctor to review your plan of care and make any adjustments deemed necessary.

The frequency of home health care visits and the services provided are based on your doctor’s orders in your personal plan of care. Your doctor may change your plan of care, increasing or decreasing the number of visits or services provided, in order to provide you with the best home health care for your needs.

Absolutely, and we’d be honored to care for you or your loved one. Federal law gives patients the freedom to choose their health care provider under Medicare.

Amedisys is one of the nation’s largest home health and hospice care providers, with over 500 care centers nationwide. To search for the Amedisys location in your community, please visit our care center directory.

There are several requirements for receiving home health care:

• You must have a doctor prescribe home health care.
• You must need either skilled nursing care on an intermittent basis or therapy services (i.e., physical/occupational/speech therapy)
• You must be restricted in your ability to leave home (“homebound”), and your homebound status must be certified by a physician.
  This means that you require the help or supervision of another person, or you use a supportive device such as a cane or walker. You can leave the home as often as you need for medical treatment. You are allowed brief and infrequent absences from the home for some non-medical reasons, such as an occasional trip to the barber/beauty shop or a walk around the block.

More detailed information about eligibility is available in The Center for Medicare and Medicard Services guide, “Medicare and Home Health Care (PDF).”

Essentially, your condition should be such that there exists a normal inability to leave home and doing so would require considerable and taxing effort. Generally speaking, you would be considered homebound if you have a condition due to an illness or injury that restricts your ability to leave home without the aid of an assistive device (such as crutches, canes, walkers or wheelchairs), without the assistance of another person, or if leaving the home is medically inadvisable.

You can leave the home as often as you need for medical treatment that cannot be provided in the home. Further, you are allowed brief and infrequent absences from the home for some non-medical reasons, such as an occasional trip to the barber/beauty shop, to attend church, or for unique family events (like a graduation).

We've created a simple homebound status checklist to help assess whether or not you qualify as homebound. You can take this checklist to your doctor to help determine if you're eligible for home health.

If you meet certain eligibility requirements, Medicare may pay for your covered home health care for as long as you’re eligible and your doctor certifies that you need it.

Additionally, your state’s Medicaid program or your private insurance also may cover home health care, or some services that Medicare doesn’t cover. Check with your state Medicaid program or insurance company to learn about their specific eligibility requirements.

A patient’s residence is wherever she makes her home. This may be her house, an apartment, a relative’s home, a home for the aged, or some other type of institution. However, a hospital, skilled nursing facility (SNF) or intermediate care facility (ICF) is not considered the patient’s home.

Home-care agencies perform household and personal care services, like preparing meals, cleaning, and helping with bathing or dressing.

Home health care provides medical treatment for an illness or injury, with the goal of helping you recover, regain your independence and become as self-sufficient as possible. Home health care can also help you live with a chronic condition, like heart disease, COPD, or diabetes. Additionally, home health care can include some personal care services, like help bathing and dressing, as part of the plan of care ordered by your doctor.

Hospice care is designed to provide non-curative treatment and comfort for those who are facing a life-limiting illness. It offers a support system of medical, social, psychological, and spiritual services that support a patient, their family, and other loved ones.

Amedisys clinicians are all equipped with point-of-care laptops to more efficiently record and track your progress. Additionally, Amedisys has developed a secure patient care web portal called MercuryDoc that can give your doctor up-to-date, detailed information about your condition. MercuryDoc provides your doctors access to your vital signs and trend graphs, medications, and medical notes from our home health care staff and more, allowing them to more efficiently check up on your progress and manage your care.