Comprehensive Geriatric
Care
Home Visiting Program
FAQ's
How do I make a referral to the Comprehensive
Geriatric Care Home Visiting Program?
Call the Director
of Community Outreach at 718 561-0041 and ask for a phone intake
interview. We accept referrals from hospital and nursing home
professionals, patients, caregivers of older adults, and community
agencies.
Comprehensive
Geriatric Care does not provide crisis intervention
services.
Does Medicare cover visits at
home?
Medicare
covers physician, psychological services, podiatric visits for
beneficiaries who can not be transported to an office
setting.
Physical
therapy is covered by Medicare when prescribed by a physician as
medically necessary to restore a person's level of function
which has been lost by illness or injury, and when there is an
expectation that the therapy will result in significant
improvement within a reasonable period of time. Maintenance of a
therapy program is not covered by
Medicare.
Occupational
therapy is covered by Medicare when prescribed by a physician as
medically necessary and appropriate treatment for a patient's
illness or injury, and when there is an expectation that the
therapy will result in significant improvement within a reasonable
period of time. Maintenance of a therapy program is not covered by
Medicare.
Do other types of
health insurance cover visits at home?
Some Medicare-HMO programs may cover
home visits by health care providers. We can help you check with
the individual insurance carrier.
How often will the doctor or other health care
provider come to the home?
Once
you or your relative is accepted onto the Home Visiting Program,
we are available by phone 24 hours, 7 days a week. Health care
providers make routine and urgent visits.
The frequency of visits will be
determined by the medical needs of the individual. Typically health maintenance primary
care services for medical, psychiatric and podiatric care would be
necessary every one to three months. More frequent visits may be
necessary for patients in need of wound care, adjustment of
mediations, or unstable health
situations.
Typically physical and occupational
therapy would be provided as a course of treatment two or three
times per week until the target rehabilitation goals are
achieved.
How
do I reach the doctor or other health care provider
for a new
problem?
We
can not make emergency or night visits to the home, but we are
available to coordinate care with providers in hospitals and
emergency
departments.
Do the doctors make emergency
visits?
We can arrange for
admission to one of the hospitals where physicians from
Comprehensive Geriatric Care can continue to provide
care.
Can I keep my
other
doctors?
Our geriatricians provide primary
medical care. We will make an initial visit, but we will not
provide primary medical care if you have another primary care
physician such as an internist or family medicine physician. For
patients whose physicians are subspecialists such as cardiologist
and oncologists, we will provide coordinated primary
care.
We
will serve as wound care consultants at the request of your
primary care
physician.
Our social worker, and podiatrist can
make home visits even if you choose not to have primary medical
care with one of our
geriatricians. | 
