Housecalls is an Orlando Health program where advanced registered nurse practitioners make house calls to a patient’s home when the patient is temporarily or permanently unable to leave due to either a recent surgery or chronic illness. Our clinicians can evaluate health conditions, order prescriptions, and temporarily act as the patient’s primary care provider until the patient is able to return to their primary physician.

Housecalls practitioners can evaluate health conditions or treat patients in the home who were just discharged from the hospital. They are able to order prescriptions and offer primary care services for patients.

With Home Care, a nurse is ordered by the patient’s primary care physician to provide a certain service in the home, such as wound care, checking for congestive heart failure, etc. Home Care nurses are not able to prescribe prescriptions or provide an evaluation of a medical issue. Home Care is for patients who just had surgery or have been recently discharged from the hospital and cannot make it to their doctor for check-ups or wound care. The physician orders the service to come to them until they are able to travel to the physician.

Patients who qualify for Housecalls home visits include:

• Patients who are homebound due to physical (or mental) limitations
• Patients discharged from an Orlando Health healthcare facility who do not have an active primary care physician.
• Patients visiting from out of the area who do not have access to their primary care physician

Yes, it is covered by Medicare Part B.

Housecalls provides temporary primary care services during the transition of care for 30 days. We encourage patients to return to their community physician once they are able to. When managing chronic conditions, such as heart failure, Housecalls can follow indefinitely as ordered by the referring provider.

Patients who utilize the Housecalls program report an extremely high level of satisfaction with their care.

The Housecalls program can:

• Decrease a patient’s length of stay in the hospital by providing follow-up care at home
• Prevent readmission by managing the patient’s condition
• provide a transition from the hospital to home that ensures quality and safety