title = "Home Health Care: Scope, Eligibility, and Service Model"

content = """
Home health care delivers skilled clinical and supportive services directly in a patient's place of
residence — typically a private home, assisted living unit, or family member's home — as an alternative
to facility-based care. The central goal is to enable patients to recover from illness or surgery, manage
chronic conditions, or maintain functional independence while remaining in a familiar environment.

**What Qualifies as Home Health Care**
Under Medicare and most private insurance definitions, home health is distinguished from home care (purely
custodial services) by the requirement for skilled clinical intervention. A service is considered skilled
when it can only be safely and effectively delivered by, or under the supervision of, a licensed clinician.
Examples include wound care, medication adjustment monitoring, physical rehabilitation, and post-surgical
nursing assessment.

**Core Disciplines**
A full-service home health agency deploys multiple disciplines in coordination:
- *Registered Nurses (RNs):* Assessment, medication management, wound care, disease education.
- *Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs):* Routine skilled nursing visits under RN supervision.
- *Physical Therapists (PTs):* Restoration of mobility, strength, and functional movement.
- *Occupational Therapists (OTs):* Adaptive strategies for activities of daily living.
- *Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs):* Communication, swallowing, and cognitive rehabilitation.
- *Medical Social Workers (MSWs):* Psychosocial assessment, community resource referral, crisis support.
- *Home Health Aides (HHAs):* Personal care assistance under the supervision of a skilled clinician.

**Service Episode Structure**
A Medicare home health episode covers 60 days of care from the start-of-care date, after which the agency
must conduct a recertification assessment to determine whether the patient still meets eligibility criteria
for continued service. A patient may have multiple consecutive episodes if clinically warranted.

**Homebound Status**
To qualify for Medicare home health benefits, a patient must be homebound — meaning leaving home requires
a considerable and taxing effort, typically due to illness, injury, or functional limitation. Occasional
brief absences (medical appointments, religious services) do not disqualify a patient. Homebound status
must be documented clearly in the clinical record and reaffirmed at each recertification.
"""

version = "0.0.1"
