Home Health Resources
Care that comes to you.
Home health agencies, skilled nursing, therapy services, hospice, and palliative care.
Guides & articles
how choose nursing home or other long term care facility
how choose nursing home or other long term care facility
Source: National Institutes of Health
Consumer selection and home health agency quality and patient experience stars - PMC
This study looked at how star ratings for home health agencies (HHAs) affect which agency people choose. Researchers found that when star ratings for quality of care and patient experience were introduced, people were more likely to pick HHAs with higher ratings. This was especially true for Black patients, those eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, and those coming from their homes rather than a hospital. The study suggests that these star ratings can help reduce differences in HHA choices among different groups of people.
Source: National Library of Medicine
The Medicare Home Health Initiative - PMC
The Medicare Home Health Initiative was created to improve home healthcare services for people who qualify for Medicare. This program aims to make sure that home health benefits better meet patients' needs, offer more flexibility in care plans, and ensure high-quality care. It also focuses on making the program run more smoothly, ensuring proper use of services, and preventing fraud. This initiative was developed because the cost of home healthcare under Medicare grew significantly, and there was a need to address how these services were provided and managed.
Source: National Library of Medicine
Access to Home Health Services under Medicare’s Interim Payment System - NCBI Bookshelf
Medicare changed how it pays for home health services because costs were growing too fast. They created a temporary payment system to cut spending, but this system has caused problems. Some home health agencies have closed, and people with very expensive medical needs might not be able to get the care they need. Lawmakers are now looking into these issues and trying to find solutions to make sure everyone can access the home health care they require.
Source: National Library of Medicine
Hospice Care - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf
Hospice care offers comfort and support to people with serious illnesses and their families, focusing on improving quality of life rather than finding a cure. It provides medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support, often in the patient's home. While many Americans wish to pass away at home, hospice helps make this possible by tailoring care to individual needs and wishes. This type of care has grown significantly in the US, with most costs covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance.
Source: National Library of Medicine
Connect-Home transitional care from skilled nursing facilities to home: A stepped wedge, cluster randomized trial - PMC
This study looked at a program called "Connect-Home" designed to help patients and their caregivers as they move from a nursing home back to their own homes. The goal was to see if this program made them feel more prepared and reduced the chances of the patient needing to go back to the hospital. While the initial results didn't show a clear improvement, a closer look at the data, especially considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggested that the Connect-Home program might actually help patients feel more ready to go home and could lower their chances of returning to the hospital. This means that programs like Connect-Home have the potential to make this transition smoother for older adults and their families.
Source: National Library of Medicine