Home Health Care Services Billing and Coding
Joyce Bryson
Southern Technical College
Professor John Dickey, MHA, BA, RMA
February 29, 2016
Home Health Care Services Billing and Coding There will come a day when we all will need some type of care in the comfortable surroundings of our own home. It has been a very good trend that a patient has had an advocate to be able to move a patient from one facility to another along with their PHR with ease. This is called an integrated healthcare delivery system. Within this system, a home health care agency provides services, such as skilled nursing, physical therapy, speech therapy and care by home health aides. While the beneficiary is recovering in their own familiar and comfortable surroundings, they are assisted with their daily activities. These services would include bathing, dressing, grooming and eating (Bayes, et al., 2014). In the next few paragraphs, I would like to discuss the criteria for these services, how to bill for these services and what tables and software is available to code for these services. In order for home health care services to be covered by Medicare, the patient must be considered to be homebound. A homebound individual is normally unable to leave home. It would take a great deal effort for the patient. Most of the time the patient would only be going to medical appointments or going to church and short outings (Waters, 2008). The patient must be under a physician’s care. The beneficiary
Joyce Bryson
Southern Technical College
Professor John Dickey, MHA, BA, RMA
February 29, 2016
Home Health Care Services Billing and Coding There will come a day when we all will need some type of care in the comfortable surroundings of our own home. It has been a very good trend that a patient has had an advocate to be able to move a patient from one facility to another along with their PHR with ease. This is called an integrated healthcare delivery system. Within this system, a home health care agency provides services, such as skilled nursing, physical therapy, speech therapy and care by home health aides. While the beneficiary is recovering in their own familiar and comfortable surroundings, they are assisted with their daily activities. These services would include bathing, dressing, grooming and eating (Bayes, et al., 2014). In the next few paragraphs, I would like to discuss the criteria for these services, how to bill for these services and what tables and software is available to code for these services. In order for home health care services to be covered by Medicare, the patient must be considered to be homebound. A homebound individual is normally unable to leave home. It would take a great deal effort for the patient. Most of the time the patient would only be going to medical appointments or going to church and short outings (Waters, 2008). The patient must be under a physician’s care. The beneficiary