1. Introduction to Home Medical Care

To improve access to medical care for patients who are disabled or face challenges visiting hospitals due to their medical conditions, National Cheng Kung University Hospital (NCKUH) participates in the National Health Insurance Home-based Medical Care Integration Program.

Our attending physicians, together with the hospital’s home nursing and home palliative care teams, form an integrated care team that provides services at three levels:

• Home Medical Care
• Intensive Home Medical Care
• Home-based Palliative Care

Each service is delivered according to the professional expertise of the care team.

2. Scope of Home Medical Services

Based on the patient’s medical needs, the following services are offered:

• General outpatient consultations at home (excluding surgeries, anesthesia, hemodialysis, rehabilitation, and home-based treatment for chronic psychiatric disorders).

• Home nursing care including general and specialized care, along with patient and family self-care education.

• Prescription and medication dispensing services.

• Assistance with referrals to long-term care services or hospital transfers as needed.

3. Service Eligibility

Eligible patients must meet the following criteria:

• Must be living at home, have a clear medical need as evaluated by the care team, and be unable to visit a hospital due to disability or illness.

• For Home Medical Care: a Barthel Index score below 60 is required.

• For Intensive Home Medical Care: patients requiring long-term indwelling tubes (e.g., nasogastric tubes, urinary catheters, stomas, tracheostomies) or having wounds such as pressure ulcers.

• For Home-based Palliative Care: separate eligibility guidelines apply.

• Services are available only within the designated service areas covered by NCKU Hospital.