One excellent option for patients with limited mobility, chronic conditions, or who are recovering from complex injuries is home health physical therapy. Though we’re an outpatient clinic, we have performed many home health visits over the years, and we can hopefully provide some insights to our patients here.
Home health physical therapy offers the convenience of receiving care at home, personalized treatment, and is ideal for patients with mobility issues. However, it has limitations, such as reduced access to specialized equipment, potential challenges with motivation, and may not be suitable for all conditions.
In this article, we’ll cover the differences between home health and outpatient physical therapy, the pros and cons, and how to determine if home health is right for you.
Home health vs outpatient physical therapy
Though traditional in-clinic outpatient physical therapy is by far the most common way to receive physical therapy, home health physical therapy is an option that has numerous benefits for patients with mobility issues, can’t leave their homes for whatever reason, or have scheduling conflicts that preclude them from visiting a physical therapy clinic.
Home health can reduce stress and increase comfort during the recovery process, and can serve as a bridge between a patient who has recently returned to their home after a hospitalization and their ability to visit an outpatient physical therapy office. The downside is that home health physical therapy can be more expensive, and out-of-pocket costs can be higher.
Many times, we suggest that patients who begin their physical rehabilitation journey at home transition to an outpatient setting once they recovery adequately.
Benefits of home health physical therapy
1. Ideal for patients with mobility issues
For patients who face difficulties in moving or traveling, home health PT can be a good solution. Though the most obvious application for home health is for elderly patients, this can occur for a number of reasons.
For example, patients who have severe mobility limitations due to a car accident or some other catastrophic event may benefit, regardless of age. This is central to home health physical therapy’s pros and cons, and often is the deciding factor.
2. More control over scheduling
In-home physical therapy services often provide more flexibility in scheduling compared to clinic appointments. For some patients, this is a make-or-break point, especially with patients who have to contend with numerous other medical appointments or commitments.
Though many clinics can be flexible on the timing of their visits, sometimes this just isn’t possible. Additionally, home health eliminates the need to factor travel time or coordinating with family members into your planning process.
With home health, patients can work with their therapists to find convenient times that fit within their routines, which may help with consistency and adherence to treatment plans.
3. Therapist attention is highly individualized
Unlike the clinic setting, where a therapist and a team of PT technicians may be working on multiple patients simultaneously, home health care services provide patients with a captive audience, where physical therapists are free to focus directly on the patient being served.
This is especially helpful in complex cases or cases where patients require quite a lot of help in performing exercises.
Challenges associated with home health physical therapy
1. Not Suitable for All Conditions
While home health physical therapy can be extremely beneficial for certain patients, it may not be appropriate for everyone. Individuals with complex conditions, or those who require specialized treatments and equipment, may benefit more from receiving their services in a more traditional setting.
In these cases, traditional outpatient physical therapy may provide more comprehensive care. If a patient has mobility restrictions or is otherwise precluded from coming into a physical therapy clinic, then a hospital-based setting can be a good option.
Additionally, many medical transportation systems are available and can be covered by insurance. If you think this describes you, discuss your concern with your primary care physician; they can provide you with more direct feedback regarding the efficacy of home health PT in your particular case.
2. Potential equipment and facility limitations
Perhaps the most obvious drawback of doing physical therapy in a home environment is the limited access to specialized equipment and resources that are often available in clinical settings.
While therapists bring portable tools and exercises tailored to the home, more advanced or larger equipment may not be feasible, which can limit the scope of certain therapies.
3. Insurance and cost considerations
Though it can be a Godsend for certain patients, one of home health physical therapy’s cons is that it may not always be covered by insurance, or it may come with higher out-of-pocket physical therapy costs depending on the patient’s plan.
Though we should all verify our benefits before agreeing to any type of medical treatment, we recommend you thoroughly discuss your benefits with any potential providers you’re planning to work with. That way, there’s no surprises.
As you get better, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to transition to traditional outpatient physical therapy down the road.
4. Can require a transition from home health agency to outpatient therapist
One of the great elements of physical therapy is that through meeting two to three times per week, we often develop a relationship with our therapist and they get to know our case. Though some providers offer both home health and outpatient services, it is more common to have to transition from one therapist to another if you’re planning on starting your process with home visits.
Though we do everything we can to make sure you’re with a good physical therapist and the transition is smooth, this can create a point of friction in the rehabilitation process.
Transitioning from home health to outpatient physical therapy
Depending on the condition, it’s common for patients who began a physical therapy treatment plan with home health to transition to tradition outpatient physical therapy later on down the road. As we’ve discussed in previous articles (see: does physical therapy work?), we discuss that it takes 2-3 months to truly reap the benefits of physical therapy.
After the first month or two, if you’re more mobile, more capable of managing the trip to and from the clinic, then transitioning to an outpatient setting may be viable and recommended by your physical therapist.
If you’re transitioning from one therapist to another, communicate with both therapists so they clearly understand your goals. Though the therapists themselves will be sharing your patient file, it’s often beneficial to get specific feedback from the patient as well.
Is home health physical therapy right for you?
Ultimately, the best way to determine whether home health makes sense for you is to consult with any healthcare professionals who are familiar with your case. Individual insights into your case will always carry more weight than generalized information.
In general, we recommend patients go the home health route if they:
- Have limited mobility due to surgery, injury, or chronic conditions, making it difficult to travel.
- Are recovering from surgery and are not yet physically able to attend outpatient physical therapy sessions.
- Require assistance with everyday activities and benefit from receiving therapy in the comfort of their own home.
- Have transportation challenges or live far from outpatient clinics.
- Feel more comfortable in a familiar environment, which can reduce stress and encourage better participation in therapy.
Regardless of your situation, consulting with your healthcare provider is the best path to help you weigh the benefits and potential limitations to ensure the best path for your rehabilitation.
