I'm caring for a beloved elder relative to keep her out of a nursing home. I called a visiting nurse agency to line up help and was told they wouldn't come out because she hadn't seen her doctor in ninety days. I explained that she's been too ill to leave the house and they just don't care. I grew up in the era of house calls and this kind of indifference makes me ill. There should be less red tape in senior care. Is this common or is it just my part of the world❓
A call to your Area Agency on Aging may help. Also, the new federal site aging.gov leads you directly to your state services. Get busy with those local links and see if you can find help.
I agree that these people aren't trying to be difficult. They have to follow the rules to remain legal.
We'd love to hear from you about how this goes.
Carol
If you call and ask, "I need nursing services for my elder" and you are asked "has she seen her doctor in the last 90 days?", ask them sweetly for a "work around". "We can get her out of the house due to her dementia. Do you have a process where we could get a doctor to come to us? What do you think I should do?". Remember that the person answering the phone is a clerk and not a nurse. Ask for a nurse supervisor to call you back if you run into roadblocks.
You say you grew up in an era of house calls. Nurses never made house calls. There is plenty of medical help available in one's home. Get crackin'.
I'm not in the healthcare system, so I'm not advocating for them. I've just had to make phone calls and inquiries for decades and I do notice the difference. HIPPA rules, red-tape, and handling of elder situations as if they were all "cookie-cutter alike" are current problems for caregiving. There are some good ideas in the comments here. Good luck.
This can be obtained over the phone & the physician can order a R.N.into the home to see the patient & make further assessments. WE do this all the time.
Please remember that the physician is employed by YOU & no magic wand is required....Persistence is required, I am sorry to say...physicians do not go see patients in the home anymore....Sad as it may be. R.N.'s who are qualified do this home health care.
There are people who go into nursing for example because their only concern is they think it is a "recession proof" job, that's not a good reason.
It's like someone going into teaching who doesn't like kids.
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