Home Health Care
Why is Post-Hospitalization Home Care so important for discharge patients?
Taking care of a patient does not end when he is discharged from the hospital. It starts there. Research and data confirm that a patient’s proper care at home, after being released from the hospital, is an extremely crucial time for gaining complete recovery, more often among older adults.
That is why post-hospitalization home healthcare under professionally trained nurses or healthcare professionals benefit patients recover completely much faster, and a lot of times help prevent a relapse.
During this critical time at home, patients are especially vulnerable to adverse events that can result in reversing the recovery process. Accidental medication errors, infection from unclean surfaces, injury from accidental fall, incorrect wound or pressure management, to name just a few – can cause a major setback of the patient's health, delay the overall recovery process, sometimes even causing fatality.
What is Home Healthcare?
“The care you need in the place you love”
Home Healthcare is a highly tailored system of care giving that is provided by skilled healthcare professionals who allow and assist patients to recover fully and safely at home, often under the direction of the physicians. Broadly, it may include nursing care, physical, occupational, speech therapy, or medical services; either short-term or long-term, depending on the person's needs.
Such home care is the key to achieving the highest quality of life, enabling safety, security, and increased independence for the patients in the familiarity of their homes.
Home Healthcare services are gaining popularity in India, and testimonials confirm that a huge number of patients and their family members have benefited from it.
Who needs Post Hospitalization Home Healthcare services the most?
Mostly, the patients who have undergone major surgery need care and supervision the most to avoid unnecessary after-discharge complications. Cardiac surgery, hip or knee replacements, spinal surgeries, transplants, removal of tumors, or any other surgeries require extremely specialized care, including an evidence-based regime to ensure complete recovery. But even patients who have not had surgery get incredible benefits from post-hospitalization care to resume a normal life – by gaining strength, both physically and mentally.
What are the benefits of different types of Home Healthcare?
Various kinds of home health care cater to the individual needs of the patients in the familiar setting of their homes. Though the type of care needed can vary according to the needs of the patient, we can broadly divide the care into three categories.
Personal Care and Companionship Assistance: Post-hospitalization often requires custodial care for the patients. This may include assistance with self-care like bathing, dressing, grooming, and help with using the restroom. Not just that, often patients need assistance with the wheelchair to facilitate free movement in the house and prevent accidental falls. This kind of home health care may also include meal planning, preparation, light housekeeping if needed, laundry, medication reminders, and escorting to doctor’s appointments as and when required. Getting through the day, performing the daily tasks of personal care can be daunting to the patients, who often feel physically weak or forgetful after being discharged from the hospital.
Nursing Care: This includes skilled nursing care and more medically aligned assistance of the patients who have been discharged from the hospital. These patients often require extra care and are still under medical supervision and guidance. Therefore, the professionally qualified nursing services may include, but not limited to, care for more serious diseases like Spinal Cord injury, kidney damage or dialysis, monitoring vital signs, administering medications, ostomy/gastronomy care, feeding tube care, or catheter care. Sometimes a lot of home health care patients who have been discharged from the hospital require treatment for wounds – like dressing, cleaning, or use of negative pressure wound therapy. Constant care is extremely important for the healing of these wounds. Hence, in most of these cases, home care under skilled nursing has proven extremely effective and resulted in the successful recovery or improvement among such patients.
Physiotherapy / Rehabilitation: A lot of patients, after being discharged from the hospital, need physical therapy, usually following a medical diagnosis. This may include help with back pain or sudden injury, as well as neurological, cardiovascular, or respiratory conditions. A physiotherapist focuses on the patient’s ability to move, reduces pain, restores functions, and helps prevent permanent disability. Especially after an injury, physiotherapists at home will take a whole picture approach to the patient's wellbeing to help immensely in your recovery to prevent disability.
Why do you need Home Health Care after hospital discharge?
The last few years have witnessed a significant rise in home health care. A foremost reason for this is the convenience and support the professionally trained health care experts offer with their expertise and care giving. The patient, as well as the family members, get more involved in the recovery. This helps the patient recover more holistically.
There are a few other aspects of home healthcare that are extremely beneficial.
To sum it up in a few points-
The professionally trained caregivers under supervision from the doctors or the surgeons are best equipped to take care of a patient’s needs in much more detail, often unnoticed by the family members.
The familiar surroundings of the home make the patient more comfortable and aligned towards a quicker recovery.
Home health care is convenient for the family members too and offers privacy.
Getting healthcare at home also reduces the stress of regular doctor checkups and follow-ups.
The patient gains confidence and independence much more quickly with the professional assistance of home health caregivers.
The focus on the individual, catering to his/her unique needs helps in recovery faster.
It significantly reduces falls, accidents, and hospital readmissions because the patient is monitored and looked after by professional experts.
Under home healthcare, the family members get a respite and are less stressed and worried. Research shows that this leads to a better environment surrounding the patient and helps in faster recovery.
The patient can be monitored constantly. Many cardiac and respiratory monitoring functions that could once only be performed at hospitals can now be done safely in the setting of a home for infants as well as adults.
Home health care is done by professionally trained experts, experienced in care giving, and best equipped with resources to take care of the patients after hospitalization.
Conclusion
Worldwide data and research show that if you compare after-discharge patients who received home healthcare under-skilled nurses, or healthcare experts with the ones who did not, the former are less likely to report health problems or complications after hospital release.
This reemphasizes the fact that home healthcare after getting discharged from the hospital works wonders because both parties share a common goal. To help create a happier, healthier, more independent living for the people receiving care, and consequently provide support and peace of mind for their families.
