As Seasons Change, Home Health Care Tries To Weed Out the Bad Apples
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by: oscarplatikus
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Date: Wed, 4 May 2011 Time: 7:37 AM
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As many learned from the recent edition of the Des Moines register, throughout the country home health care is not being effectively monitored, putting patients' health at risk and in many cases their finances . In the April 23rd edition of the Register , an agency based in Waverly, Iowa was reported as having less skilled aides carry out service while charging fees that should have been carried out by a nurse. So here the issue is managing oversight in terms of the care itself as well as billing .
With an increasingly older population, home health care has been a booming industry throughout much of the country, with Iowa being a state with one of the eldest populations. In areas like this, particularly in times of financial hardship for many , home health care becomes a very attractive option when compared to nursing homes. Trying to manage regulation for these services in such a fast growing market has been difficult, however . In Iowa, for example, the billing agencies that do not go through Medicare are not subject to regulatory oversight, opening up the possibility for fraudulent billing practices .
The case in Iowa isn't the case around the country, however. Minnesota requires home health care services be provided by licensed agencies. Many highly trained hospital nurses may not carry out the same high levels of medical care being delivered by home health care agencies , as home health providers are often dealing with clients receiving chemotherapy or with other advanced forms of illness like alzheimers. In some cases, home health care agencies and their nurses are providing more complex services than you would see in a typical trauma unit .
Beyond the quality of care issues, Medicare fraud seems to be the one issue that is gaining the most traction in the move towards regulation . Across the country it's getting easier and easier to find tales of billing malpractice , with cases of multiple charges in Detroit, Houston, Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles among others.
Fortunately, there are an increasing number of tools online to help people learn more about their home health service providers. Starting with learning your local regulations (or lack thereof) and then simply checking out a home health care providers website, but there are also independent home health care review sites like Cite Health that can give you an insight into the services and ethical practices by a specific agency. Seeking out positive reviews on a site like Cite Health and other reviews that back up what you've learned can help narrow your list before contacting them individually with any other questions or concerns you may have. In the case of selecting a home health care provider, it pays to do your homework and be educated.
About the Author
This article was provided by a contributor to Seasons Change Home Health Care, a home health care agency based in Pigeon, Michigan. To learn more, follow them on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/seasonschangeHH
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