Know Your Home Care Coordinator

“What is an HCC?” you may ask. HCC is an acronym for Home Care Coordinator. It is typically used to identify the representatives who act on behalf of a patient who is in need of home care services or medical equipment in their home.

Getting the Ball Rolling

The HCC is the one who can coordinate the trip home from a hospital or rehabilitation facility. The HCC can have a hospital bed, shower chair, bedside commode, oxygen concentrator, and many more home medical equipment products delivered right to your home. If oxygen is a necessity for the patient, the HCC can arrange to have enough O2 supplied via portable tanks for the car ride home. There are many people who work behind the scenes, but your HCC is the one who “gets the ball rolling” so-to-speak.

Staying on Track

It is important that you or your caregiver know who the Home Care Coordinator and Home Care provider is for durable medical equipment. Many times, a patient will be discharged from the hospital with the need for a single piece of equipment. If that person is in a declining state of health, there may be a need for additional items later. If you are unable to tell the doctor who your provider is, these items may be ordered from a different supplier. If the items are ordered over a series of doctor visits from different providers, one can find themselves tasked with keeping an “inventory” of their medical equipment needs. However, if a problem arises with, say, an oxygen concentrator – contacting the correct service provider is a very big deal!

I know the previous scenario sounds unlikely, but I have received numerous calls from patients and caregivers inquiring if Premier was their O2 provider. After checking my computer, I have to tell them “no”. And then that patient has to make at least one more phone call!

Don’t let yourself be caught in that situation. Know your HCC/DME provider and be proactive when it comes to your home care. You are your own best advocate!