Is Home Health Care Preferable for a Patient?
While the added convenience of home medical care cannot be overstated for some patients, there is a very real cost for having home medical care that may outweigh its benefits. To start with there is an added cost to have a medical professional visit the home of a patient both in travel time and lost revenue from treating more patients. The model where patients travel to doctors with medical air transport services greatly benefits the doctors and other patients who can service more patients as a result.
Since many of the patients receiving care is paid through insurance programs the patients may not directly incur the cost of the increased medical care, but there are other repercussions for them. Not all doctors and medical professionals are willing to make home visits and the care that the patients receive may be substandard as a result. In addition, the most modern equipment and tools, and an unsanitary home environment, may only make the injury worse.
Some patients risk further injury when they visit a doctor and in these situations where they are not ready to live in an assisted living facility, a home medical visit may make sense. However, home medical care should be a detailed and conscientious decision by both the patient and the medical practitioner given the individual circumstances involved.