Home nursing services have many benefits for patients and families. They can reduce costs, increase health outcomes, and provide companionship. In addition, they can improve a patient’s quality of life.
Let’s look at some of them. Let’s start with the most obvious: they’re more personal. The person caring for a patient becomes part of their family and helps them through their recovery process.
They also have more time to spend with the patient, which helps fight loneliness and improve happiness. Additionally, caregivers speak the patient’s language, which helps patients feel comfortable and secure.
6 Benefits of Home Nursing
#1. Reduces Costs
Using home nursing services Brooklyn NY can result in dramatic savings for Medicare and private insurers.
Because at-home care eliminates the need to rent expensive brick-and-mortar facilities, these services are much less expensive than traditional hospital care.
Moreover, they have been shown to deliver equivalent outcomes and fewer complications than hospital care. This alternative care may also help prevent hospital bed shortages in the U.S.
In many senior facilities, the labor cost can account for up to 70 percent of the total monthly expenditures. This is one of the hardest variables to manage.
Long-term care operators must staff facilities according to the required PPD (Patient Per Day) census value. If this is not done, it can lead to significant problems for the facility’s quality score and may decrease Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements. Also, failing to staff appropriately can impact physician referrals.
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#2. Improves Health Outcomes
The number of studies evaluating the benefits of home nursing care is small, and many unanswered questions exist.
The work environment of nurses in home health care is an essential factor, and research is needed to identify the factors that affect patient health.
These factors may include the type of patients cared for and the work environment. Technology may also play a role in improving patient outcomes.
Patients discharged from hospitals to home health care showed more favorable unadjusted health outcomes. Only 15.8% of patients were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, compared to 29.3% for those discharged from SNFs.
Additionally, home healthcare patients showed greater improvement in daily activities than skilled nursing facilities. Furthermore, patients discharged from home health care had lower Medicare payments than those who stayed in an SNF.
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#3. Reduces Hospital Stays
Home nursing is a great option to reduce hospital stays for patients. It can provide excellent care and help patients return home faster. This method requires a high-quality team to manage the patient’s condition.
However, this option can introduce complications, such as inadequate communication. If the team does not work well together, the patient may not feel comfortable receiving care.
Home nursing services are available in many countries. The program reduces hospitalization by up to 30% and significantly reduces costs.
Its success has led to entrepreneurial efforts to promote the model. However, physician concerns over safety and liability have hindered its widespread adoption. Additionally, payers have been hesitant to reimburse for home care.
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#4. Provides Companionship
Many older adults opt to hire companions for their care. Companions will come to the home on a set schedule and perform specific tasks.
These duties should be related to the person receiving the care and should not include performing chores or activities for other family members.
These services provide companionship and health support for the patient and the family. While these services can be expensive, they can improve the quality of life for the patient and their family.
Companions will typically make frequent visits to the home to check on the patient and provide assistance with daily activities. These visits can range from twice or three times a week to daily.
Companions can also assist with laundry, meal preparation, and other tasks. Depending on the patient’s needs, companions may also arrange transportation and adjust schedules to meet the patient’s needs.
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#5. Builds a Healthy Nurse-Patient Connection
One of the benefits of home nursing is the ability to form a personal connection with patients. Registered nurses can take the time to get to know patients, and this can help them improve their healthcare outcomes.
It can even improve patient engagement. One of the reasons this can happen is that home nurse only see one patient at a time so that they can develop a personal bond with them.
This connection can also help them gain new perspectives on the behavior of their patients. For example, a nurse can work creatively to help a non-compliant patient.
In the healthcare industry, the relationship between the nurse and the patient profoundly affects the patient’s recovery.
The Institute of Medicine recommends that a nurse’s relationship with her patient should be respectful and focused on the patient’s values and preferences.
An excellent nurse-patient connection will help patients feel comfortable in the presence of a caring professional.
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#6. Reduces Caregiver Stress
The prevalence of caregiver stress is high, but it can be reduced. The key to reducing caregiver stress is providing appropriate support.
Various interventions are available, including respite care, caregiver training, and better technology access. These interventions reduce the physical and financial strain caregivers face.
If implemented correctly, these programs can reduce caregiver stress by up to 27 percent. However, they may not eliminate all causes of caregiver stress.
Caregivers who report high-stress levels are more likely to be female and the spouse or children of the care recipient.
They also tend to care for those who require constant supervision and have behavioral problems. However, high-stress caregivers are not significantly different from caregivers who report low-stress levels.
These caregivers are also less likely to report a need for help from a professional caregiver.
