House Calls

NYC Home Medical Services

• Primary Care/Routine Care
• Urgent Care
• Nutritionist
• Wound Care
• Blood Work
• Echo
• EKG
• Sonograms
• Ultrasound
• X-ray

Why Do Patients Need a House Call?

• Patient is homebound.
• Patient is not mobile or has difficulty ambulating.
• Patient is using some mobility device.
• Patient is disable or otherwise not capable of visiting a Doctor’s Office.
• Physician needs to assess home environment, and patient and caregiver function

Types of House Calls

• Patient assessment (e.g., polypharmacy, multiple medical problems, excessive health care use, social isolation, frailty, suspected abuse, suspected neglect or self-neglect, need for family meeting, recent major change in health, consideration of long-term care admission).
• Illness management for homebound patients (emergency, acute, or chronic conditions).
• Terminal patients (e.g., palliative/terminal care, death pronouncement, grief support).
• Concierge services (e.g., health promotion, disease prevention).

Visits can be performed once or ongoing for patients with chronic or terminal conditions.

Will My Insurance Cover the House Calls?

Most insurance carriers cover House Calls for people who are homebound. The Medicare definition for Home Bound is below.

For children or young adults, visits by insurance may require Insurance Authorizations. If you don’t have insurance, call us and we can guide you on getting your visit today.

Medicare Definition of Homebound

To be eligible for home health services, a Medicare beneficiary must:

• Need intermittent skilled nursing care; or physical, speech, or occupational therapy
• Be confined to the home (e.g., normal inability to leave; requires considerable and taxing effort to leave; requires supportive devices like canes, wheelchairs, and walkers to leave; requires special transportation to leave; requires help from another person to leave; medical contraindication for leaving the home)
• Be under a plan of care established and periodically reviewed by a physician
• Receive the services from a Medicare-participating home health agency

Additionally, the following should not disqualify a person from being considered confined to the home:

• Participation in therapeutic, psychosocial, or medical treatment in an adult day care program that is licensed or certified by the state
• Any other absence from the home that is infrequent or of relatively short duration; any absence for the purpose of attending a religious service shall be deemed to be an absence of infrequent or short duration; any absence for the purpose of attending a religious service shall be deemed to be an absence of infrequent or short duration.

Who can request the House Call Visit?

Patient, family member or member of the home health team can request a house call.