As the world advances in various ways, healthcare has been making exciting steps in a new direction. Specifically, providing patients with care in the comfort of their own homes has become a more normalized and viable option for scores of individuals. As a result, scores of people are now able to receive amazing and effective care from the comfort of their own homes.

However, while these evolutions in home health have been commendable, there are some keyways this type of care can be improved and made more effective. In particular, introducing nurse practitioners into the home health space and having them work in tandem with home health nurses could be incredibly beneficial.

Here is enhancing patient well-being through the partnership of home health nurses and nurse practitioners.

The Differing Roles of Home Health Nurses and Nurse Practitioners in Patient Well-Being

Before understanding the incredible benefit of a partnership between home health nurses and nurse practitioners, it’s essential to understand their individual roles. By gaining a more thorough perspective on how these different professionals benefit patients, the value of their collaboration will become more apparent.

Here are the differing roles of home health nurses and nurse practitioners in patient well-being.

Home Health Nurses

Home health nurses play a key role in serving a specific type of patient population. Generally, home health nurses serve patients who are unable to leave their homes to receive medical treatment at a healthcare facility. Often, these patients are older adults — a patient population that is steadily growing as we delve deeper into the future.

Some typical duties of home health nurses include administering medicine, performing minor procedures, and sometimes offering support for patients with terminal illnesses. While home health nurses make receiving care more convenient for patients, they also bring other significant benefits.

In some cases, home health care provided by these specialized nurses can actually help patients decrease the costs associated with their treatments. Furthermore, the continuous nature of home health care has been shown to increase the chances of patients experiencing optimal health outcomes.

Ultimately, home health nurses providing home health care often cause patients to experience a higher level of satisfaction with their medical care, thereby increasing patient well-being in a variety of ways.

Nurse Practitioners

Nurse practitioners are advanced nurses that have the power to provide a higher level of care than their registered nurse counterparts. Nurse practitioners who serve families are called family nurse practitioners (FNPs) and sometimes serve patients throughout their lifetime. It is this ability to serve patients in a meaningful and prolonged fashion that motivates many healthcare professionals to become nurse practitioners.

Depending on the laws and regulations in specific states, FNPs sometimes have the power to provide primary care to patients, often taking the role that physicians usually inhabit. This means having the ability to help patients manage ailments such as chronic diseases and lifelong illnesses.

A key responsibility of nurse practitioners is creating or adjusting patient care plans to ensure that each patient experiences the best possible health outcomes. Though FNPs and other nurse practitioners often work in healthcare facilities where patients come to see them, their skillset can be incredibly conducive to providing high-quality home healthcare.

How Home Health Nurses and Nurse Practitioners Can Join Forces to Enhance the Patient Experience

While both home health nurses and nurse practitioners are incredibly valuable to patients on their own, they can greatly enhance patient well-being by joining forces. Understanding how these professionals can partner to benefit patients is key to gaining insight into ways innovation can benefit patients in healthcare’s future.

Here are some ways that home health nurses and nurse practitioners can partner to enhance the patient experience.

Collaborating On Care Plans

When it comes to crafting the perfect care plan for patients, it’s important to have both a deep understanding of healthcare and a deep understanding of a particular patient. By working together, home health nurses and nurse practitioners can devise potent and effective care plans which help enhance patient experiences.

While nurse practitioners can provide key insights into the most effective health treatments for patients, home health nurses can help paint a picture of patients’ home lives and what types of treatments are most conducive for them. This being the case, it’s clear this type of collaboration can help patients receive better, more effective care.

Exchanging Information and Advice

Both home health nurses and nurse practitioners have specialized skill sets that help patients in keyways. While there is some overlap, each of these professionals also has unique and specialized insights into their patients.

For example, nurse practitioners can help instruct home health nurses in advance treatment practices and, in doing so, make them more capable of treating specific patients with idiosyncratic needs. On the other hand, home health nurses can help nurse practitioners gain a clearer picture of a patient’s home life, social network, and other key factors which can affect their health.

Providing Support

When medical professionals are on the same page, they’re in a better position to provide patients with amazing support. This type of care is incredibly important when treating patients with chronic or terminal illnesses which can be emotionally taxing.

By working together to provide crucial and meaningful emotional support, home health nurses and nurse practitioners can significantly enhance their patients’ experiences and make them feel more supported throughout their treatment journeys.

Home Health Nurses and Nurse Practitioners Can Change the Patient Experience

By working together to treat patients, home health nurses and nurse practitioners can transform the patient experience and significantly enhance patient well-being. From sharing information to working in tandem to craft care plans, there are many ways that these professionals can collaborate to provide exceptional care to scores of patients.

As time goes on and the healthcare sector prioritizes home health in a more meaningful way, home health nurses and nurse practitioners will likely become intertwined in their treatment of patients across the country.