Finding the Right Home Health Care Agency: How Much Will This Cost?

Part of the concern that many people have when it comes to allowing a home health care agency to take care of their elderly relatives is how they will pay for it. Some people are much better equipped to handle their later years because they saved money or have some kind of a pension program that will allow them to pay for their own health care. However, others have to rely on income from family members or government agencies. This is why it's important to choose a home health care agency that can help you navigate the tricky waters of budgeting for elderly care.

The first important factor to take into consideration is speaking with the home health care agency to see if they can offer any support or advice about whether Medicare or Medicaid will pay for any portion of the person's care. There are so many variables to consider such as whether or not it will be considered long or short term care. Will it be rehabilitative (physical therapy or speech therapy) or medically necessary (care that must be provided by a Registered Nurse).

If the expenses do not fit into the Medicare services, than you may have out of pocket expenses. However these costs could also be paid for by long term insurance. Most people who need additional care or assistance (that isn't covered by Medicare) choose to hire a private pay home care provider, OR they move into an assisted living or nursing home.

Remember to consider the expenses from the agency as well. You can ask questions as to the their fees including if there are any additional costs for weekends, holidays or other business hours.

Another important consideration is who pays the worker's Social Security and whether or not the company provides worker's compensation just in case there is an injury in the home while the employee is providing care. You also want to understand their billing procedure and whether or not you pay the worker or the agency directly. They should also be able to tell you if the agency bills Medicare or any other insurance directly for the covered services.

When discussing the hours the home health care worker will work in the home, make sure you know whether or not there are a minimum number of hours or days per week that are required by the agency. In essence, you want to know if there are going to be any unexpected fees or extra charges that may come up.

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The Right Sterilization Pouches May Be the Most Important Part of Your Dental Supplies Inventory

Anyone who has worked in a hospital, doctor's, or dentist's office for any length of time will remember the days before sterilization pouches became a part of every practice's inventory of dental supplies. They will recall how much effort was required to ensure the sterility of critical supplies and instruments. Kits of specific instruments and consumables were bundled up in those green towels, secured with tape that indicated whether or not the item had been autoclaved. Merely opening the kits often proved cumbersome, and there was really no means of ensuring that the sterility of even a seemingly intact kit hadn't been compromised. And a spill or splatter of even a few drops of liquid on the sealed kit rendered it non sterile, at least for legal liability and procedural purposes.

But that was then, and this is now. Except in the cases of expensive, precision instruments that cannot be effectively replaced with single-use disposable equivalents, most medical and dental facilities now utilize disposable instruments and supplies, and for those items that are reusable, the taped cloth bundle has been, for the most part, replaced by sterilization pouches. And poorly designed pouches are little better than a plastic bag. On the other hand, good sterilization pouches - which are essential components in any stock of medical or dental supplies - have a few very essential features that the savvy buyer will look for and, indeed, insist upon.

For one thing, a good sterilization pouch will be constructed with one side being an impermeable plastic membrane that allows the instruments or supplies to be clearly visible, so that any damage to the pouch or its contents is discovered well before it is actually needed. The other side, which is seamlessly attached to the membrane, will be of a semi-permeable paper that allows the transfer of autoclave gases, yet whose microscopic openings are small enough to prevent the passage of liquids or airborne pathogens. Finally, the pouch must have a sure-fire sealing mechanism that is itself impermeable, with no potential for gaps that would allow the passage of contaminants. Furthermore, each of the elements of the pouch must provide good indication of any damage to the packaging itself. When the sealed pouch and its contents are brought into the treatment or operating room, there must be no doubt that its contents are sterile. If virtually any of these design criteria are missing, the pouch - and thus the sterility of its contents - cannot be ensured.

Ultimately, the safety of the dentist or surgeon's patients rests in the clinic's assurance of effective infection control, which is in great part dependent upon the design and quality of the sterilization pouch. It is also worthy of note that it can be quite reassuring to a patient to see the care provider actually tearing open the pouch, for while it might never occur to the dentist or surgeon, seeing instruments or other materials being removed from an obviously well-sealed pouch could well serve to dispel the inherently stressed patient's infection concerns.

The seasoned professionals at Med101Dental.com know what the conscientious practitioner demands in the way of sterilization pouches, as well as the other dental supplies you rely upon to provide your patients with the quality service and reassurance they have come to expect. The close relationship we maintain with our client practitioners ensures that we at Med101Dental.com are able to understand and fulfill their every dental supply need.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_Giovinco

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