Protecting Patients' Rights

Monday, March 1, 2004

THE LAW! Protecting Patients’ Rights (NAPSA)—Manypeople don’t know it but federal law guarantees your right to choose the home care provider you get to help you at home. y ON When a discharged patient requires home care, a hospital must, by law, let him or her know aboutall services in the area. As part of the discharge planning process, hospitals are required to tell patients what home health services are available, which participate in the Medicare program and which serve the patients’ area. The services have to ask to be listed by the hospital as available, federal sources report. According to the experts at Interim HealthCare—a leading provider of home care and medical staffing—if you are being discharged from a hospital, the discharge planner should work with you and your family to be sure you understand your home care needs based on your condition and expected recovery. If homecare is recommended, the hospital is required by law to give you a list of all the home care agencies that can serve you at home, in addition to any hospital-sponsored or owned homecare services. For more information, visit www.interimhealthcare.com.

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