Home Health Monitoring FAQs

There is no charge* to the patient except the cost of the patient’s prescription medication.

*certain criteria may apply

To learn more about our home healthcare services program, call us at 604-327-0568 or email us at [email protected].

Our home health monitoring program is referral-based. You must be referred by:

• Your doctor,
• Another healthcare professional such as a nurse,
• A case manager, or
• A health unit

The referral form can be faxed or emailed to one of our pharmacies, or your professional can call the referral line at 604-327-0568.

The home health monitoring program is customized to each patient and can be utilized on an as-needed basis:

• Short-term – If the patient requires home care assistance during a transition period from hospital to home or a facility and/or initial training or help with medication monitoring.
• On-going or permanent – If the patient has little or no support at home, a chronic medical condition or the need for ongoing medication monitoring.

Patients are generally visited by a nurse once a day. Upon special request, nurses can visit 2 – 3 times per day for an initial period of 2 – 4 weeks, and then transition to once daily visits. If required, twice a day visits on a permanent basis can be arranged. Alternately, if the patient requires less frequent visits (eg. once weekly to administer a weekly injection), that can be arranged as well.

We currently accept referrals and patients for home health care services in the following areas:

• Aldergrove
• Burnaby
• Cloverdale
• Delta/Ladner
• Fort Langley
• Langley
• Maple Ridge
• New Westminster
• North Vancouver/West Vancouver
• Pitt Meadows
• Richmond
• Surrey
• Tri-Cities (Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody)
• Tsawwassen
• Vancouver
• White Rock

Absolutely. Frequent, ongoing communication with every patient’s healthcare team is vital to the success of our home health monitoring program.

Every 2-3 months, a summary of the patient’s MTRs (Medication Tracking Records) is compiled and shared with the primary care physician, clinical specialist, case manager and, for patients with mental health concerns, the mental health and addictions care team.

The summary includes the following information (when applicable):

• Blood pressure and pulse rate (ranges and averages)
• Random and/or fasting blood sugars obtained through download of glucose meter
• Body weight
• Any medication adherence or health concerns
• Any specific information requested by the physician and/or case manager
• Any recommendations by the pharmacist for changes to medication therapy

As well, our pharmacists and registered nurse managers are in communication with visiting nurses at least once a day – more frequently if urgent concerns arise. The visiting nurses also submit daily reports on each patient, which are reviewed by our pharmacists.

Of course, any urgent concerns are immediately addressed as medically appropriate, and the healthcare team is informed and consulted in a timely manner.

Our program is aimed to assist with medication administration and management. We do not provide assistance with activities of daily living including, but not limited to, cooking, feeding, bathing, cleaning, physically moving the patient, dressing the patient, transportation, and withdrawing blood for lab tests.