Managed Home Health Care – What is it?

There may come a time when you need to care for your family at home. This need may be triggered after discharge from a hospital after an operation or after an illness like a stroke where further convalescence and rehabilitation is needed after discharge. Or it may be required for a patient with advanced cancer or Parkinson’s Disease or Dementia where patients need progressively more care. This is the time where you may realise that you, although willing to help, do not have the knowledge or skills required to care for your loved one alone. Like many, who suddenly need to source care and/ or nursing assistance for your loved ones, you may not know where to start looking for this kind of care services.

A few aspects are important to consider when making a decision to get assistance: 1. You will want to provide every opportunity to achieve the best possible outcomes for your loved one; 2. You have to understand the importance that “nursing”  refers to both the scientific discipline of care but also the art of caring; 3. Your decision  should consider that the service provider of your choice will coordinate the seamless continuation of care without interruption; 4. That your choice ensures that the healing environment is brought to your home – the hand on the patient of a team of experts.

You may find that sourcing a caretaker or nurse for assistance may be relatively easy by utilising the services of so-called nursing or placement agencies. These businesses have a list of caregivers and nurses that could be contracted. They therefore act as intermediaries and resource managers and will provide the level of health worker you request, but no more. Although this may look like an easy solution, it may prove to serve or not to serve the goals required for the care needs. The alternative option is to engage with organisations specialising in managed home nursing whose approach to provide for the care needs and services required at home is much more holistic. 

The “managed” terminology refers to an approach that is systemic and provides the glue to bring different components of the healthcare system together to optimise the results or outcomes of care that you strive for by sourcing a professional organisation you appoint. Central to this model of care is the concept of care management. This refers to the ability of the managed home nursing organisation to manage the process of care from receiving of the request for care until termination of care. It involves a full assessment of the patient and the family, the specific requests from doctors and sometimes medical schemes, that are relevant to the care process. This assessment forms the bases of a customised care plan that specifies what care will be needed and by whom. During the care process the responsible nurse will continue to engage with other health professionals like family practitioners, specialists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and dieticians as the patient’s condition requires.

 This type of company follows a healthcare team approach and combines both the science, with the art of care at home nursing services. The “art of care” is that feeling and understanding by the caregivers and nurses of the suffering of the patient and their family that translates into the compassion that is evident in the actions, the voice, and the touch, that is so essential to the creation of a healing environment.

So, do your homework. The innovation and evolution of Managed Home Health Care provides the potential to serve the sick more comprehensively through high-quality, holistic home care to the community and to your own residence at a high level of satisfaction.

Medwell SA specialises in providing managed home health care as an alternative to long-term hospitalisation and care in specialised facilities.  Medwell SA’s service offering includes managed care at home, post-hospitalisation and discharge from rehabilitation facilities as well as the supply of all needed medical equipment through our incorporated partner EDNA Medical Distributors.  Medwell SA’s services are offered to all age groups including the elderly that have become frail and those with Dementia. 

For more information, visit www.medwell.co.za or send an e-mail to info@medwell.co.za