is Private Duty Nursing and Home Health Nursing

[pat8585]

the exact same thing?

or

is the difference related to the funding ?

[hotnurse84]

yeah i think private duty really comes from the clients pocket. but home health can be paid by insurance companies and medicaid, medicare, and so on. i believe,,,,,someone correct me if im wrong.

[nursel56]

"Private Duty" can be when a patient pays out-of-pocket for a nurse. One-on-one care can also be paid for by Medicaid, Medicare and insurance companies. If a patient would otherwise be placed in Long Term Care, they qualify for a waiver that lets them stay home. An example of that might be someone with ALS, a vent-dependent child, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, etc. The waiver program, I think saves money in the long run.

The one on one ratio and shift-like hours are sometimes referred to as Home Health, but generally, it refers to a nurse visiting for a shorter time, drawing labs, patient education, and assesments that are done to re-certify the patients need for in-home services. The labels are somewhat murky, but this is what I've found to be generally true. Hope this helps! :)

[caliotter3]

This question has been visited before. Private duty is the correct term when the nurse is paid by the client, truly "private" duty home health care. All other home health care, including extended care (also called continuous care or shift work), and intermittent visit care, occurs when the nurse works for an agency and is paid by that agency, regardless of the source of reimbursement. It is common for the term "private duty" to be used for extended care.