What Is Skilled Home Health Care?
When many people hear “home health care,” they think of someone helping with meals, bathing or everyday household tasks. But skilled home health care is different. It brings medical and rehabilitative care into a patient’s home when their condition requires the expertise of a licensed medical professional.
They say there is no place like home, and during recovery from an unexpected illness or injury, this can be especially true. Research continues to demonstrate the potential of the home as a setting for healthcare. One systematic review found that patients receiving hospital-level care at home had a 26% lower risk of readmission compared with traditional inpatient care. JAMA Network Open — Hospital-at-Home systematic review
What Does “Skilled” Home Health Care Mean?
Skilled care involves services that require healthcare professionals such as nurses and physical therapists. Medicare describes home health as care that can help someone recover from an illness or injury, maintain their current condition/function, or slow a decline. Medicare — Home Health Services
Make no mistake, home health isn’t only for someone who is actively “getting better.” CMS specifically recognizes skilled therapy used to maintain someone’s condition or prevent/slow deterioration when skilled therapy is medically necessary. CMS — Jimmo Settlement / Maintenance Coverage
What Services Can Skilled Home Health Provide?
Skilled Nursing
- Wound care
- Injections
- IV/nutrition therapy
- Monitoring serious or unstable conditions
- Patient and caregiver education
- Medication/condition management where skilled nursing is medically necessary
Physical Therapy
After surgery or hospitalization, physical therapy can help patients regain mobility, strength and balance while addressing fall risks in the home. Research has also found an association between early home health physical therapy and a lower risk of hospital readmission among older Medicare beneficiaries.
DID YOU KNOW?
A 2024 study of Medicare beneficiaries receiving home health physical therapy after hospitalization found that patients who received at least two PT visits during their first week home had a 43% lower adjusted risk of 30-day hospital readmission compared with those receiving fewer than two visits. Physical Therapy — Frontloaded Home Health Physical Therapy Study
Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapy helps patients safely perform everyday activities and can help increase independence at home.
Additional Home Health Services
Eligible patients may receive medical social services and, under certain circumstances, part-time home health aide services alongside skilled care.
https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/home-health-services
Who Might Benefit From Skilled Home Health Care?
- Someone returning home after hospitalization
- Someone recovering from surgery
- A patient who needs wound care
- Someone experiencing decreased strength or mobility
- A person having difficulty safely leaving home
- Someone whose medical condition needs skilled monitoring
- A patient who needs PT or OT but has difficulty traveling to outpatient appointments
You don’t have to wait until someone is in crisis to ask whether home health may be appropriate. If you notice changes in strength, mobility, safety or the ability to manage a medical condition at home, it may be worth starting the conversation with your healthcare provider.
If you or a loved one could benefit from skilled or non-skilled care, the Platinum team can also help you understand your options.
Does Medicare Cover Skilled Home Health Care?
Yes. Medicare covers eligible home health services when certain requirements are met. For Medicare-covered home health, a patient generally must be under the care of an eligible provider, have an established and regularly reviewed plan of care, require qualifying intermittent skilled nursing or therapy services, meet Medicare’s definition of homebound, and receive care through a Medicare-certified home health agency.
Home Health Care Myth
Homebound does not necessarily mean a person can never leave their house. Medicare.gov
Medicare considers whether leaving home requires assistance or is medically inadvisable, whether the person normally cannot leave home, and whether leaving requires considerable effort. Certain medical trips and short/infrequent absences don’t automatically disqualify someone.
Skilled Home Health vs. Non-Skilled Home Care
Skilled home health can provide essential medical and rehabilitative care, but patients and families sometimes need support that falls outside the scope of skilled services. That’s where non-skilled home care comes in.
Non-Skilled Home Care is defined as assistance with everyday living and support needs, such as personal care, companionship, and other non-medical assistance. It’s easy for day-to-day tasks to pile up or simply get ignored while caring for yourself or a loved one. Non-skilled home care can take some of the day-to-day burden off patients and their families, allowing more time and energy to focus on rest, recovery and quality of life.
Some families need one. Some need the other. Some benefit from both.
Bringing Skilled Care Home
Home health allows appropriate patients to receive professional care where they’re most comfortable—their own home—while keeping their healthcare providers involved in the plan of care.
Platinum Home Health Services has been bringing skilled care to Cleveland-area homes since 2006. Rated 5 Stars by Medicare for both Quality of Patient Care and Patient Survey ratings, we are proud of the care our team provides, and we are constantly working to make the patient experience even better.
Not sure if home health is right for you or someone you love?
Talk with your healthcare provider or contact Platinum Home Health Services. Our team can help you better understand skilled home health services, the referral process and what the next steps may look like. Contact us to learn more.
Skilled home health care brings nursing, therapy and other qualifying healthcare services into the home for patients who need skilled care. For eligible patients, Medicare may cover these services at no cost to the patient.
