Your First Home Health Visit: When It Starts and What to Expect

Reviewed by Ylmard Grimaldi, LVN
Last reviewed: October 26, 2026

Your doctor has ordered home health. Now what? This guide explains how soon visits can start and what happens on the first visit. It also shows what to have ready.

The short answer

• Home health starts after your doctor sends an order to the agency.
• The agency calls you to set the first visit.
• Medicare rules say the first visit should happen within 48 hours of the referral or of your return home, or on the start date your doctor orders.
• Timing can vary. Call the agency if you have not heard from them.
• On the first visit, a nurse or therapist checks your health, reviews your medicines, and makes a care plan.

Words to know

• Referral or order: The request from your doctor that tells the agency to start care.
• Start of care: The day home health care begins. This is your first visit.
• Care plan: The plan your doctor and the home health team make for you. It says what care you get and how often.
• Homebound: It is very hard for you to leave home. You need help, a device like a walker, or leaving is not safe for you.

How fast can visits start?

1. Your doctor or hospital sends the order to the agency you chose.
2. The agency checks your insurance and your address.
3. The agency calls you to set a day and time.
4. A nurse or therapist comes for the first visit.

Medicare rules say this first visit should happen:

• within 48 hours of the referral, or
• within 48 hours after you get home, or
• on the start date your doctor orders.

Each case is different. A missing order, an insurance check, or your schedule can change the day. If you do not get a call within a day or two, call the agency. Then call your doctor's office.

Who may get home health

Medicare may cover home health if:

• A doctor or other allowed provider says you need it and makes a care plan.
• You need skilled care, like a nurse or therapist, part time.
• You are homebound.
• You had a face-to-face visit with your provider about why you need care.

Coverage rules can be different for each person and health plan. The agency can help you understand yours. See Medicare and Home Health.

What happens on the first visit

The first visit is longer than later visits. It may take one to two hours.

The nurse or therapist will:

• Ask about your health and your hospital stay.
• Check your vital signs, like blood pressure, pulse, and breathing.
• Look at any wounds.
• Review all your medicines.
• Watch how you walk, get up, and move around.
• Look at your home for safety, like rugs, stairs, and the bathroom.
• Ask about your goals. What do you want to be able to do again?
• Ask who helps you at home.
• Explain your rights and how to reach the agency.
• Talk with your doctor to finish your care plan.
• Set up the next visits.

They will also teach you and your family. This may include how to take your medicines, care for a wound, or move safely.

What to have ready

• Your discharge papers
• All your medicines in their bottles, including vitamins, herbs, and creams
• Your insurance cards (Medicare, Medi-Cal, or other plan)
• A photo ID
• Your doctors' names and phone numbers
• Your pharmacy's name and phone number
• A list of questions
• A family member, if you want help listening

Tip: Clear a spot at a table where the nurse can sit and write.

Questions to ask on the first visit

• Who will come, and how often?
• How long will home health last?
• What are my goals?
• What warning signs should I watch for?
• Who do I call at night or on weekends?
• What should my family learn to help me?
• Is my care covered? Will I owe anything?

What home health does not do

• It is not 24-hour care.
• Staff visit for a set time, then leave.
• It does not replace your doctor.

Frequently asked questions

If you want Newstart Home Health

• Newstart Home Health Inc is licensed in 7 Southern California counties. We are currently serving Los Angeles, Ventura, and Orange Counties.
• We accept Medicare and Medi-Cal. Coverage rules can be different for each person and health plan.
• Doctors' offices and care teams can send a referral by phone or fax.
• You and your family can call us, too. A real person will help you. It is free to call.

Related pages

• Request Care
• Skilled Nursing
• Physical Therapy
• What Medicare Home Health Covers (and What It Doesn't)
• How to Ask for a Home Health Agency by Name
• Medication Safety at Home

Sources

1. eCFR (CMS regulation). 42 CFR 484.55, "Comprehensive assessment of patients" (initial assessment visit timing and content). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/section-484.55 (checked Oct 26, 2026, PT)
2. Medicare.gov (CMS). "Home health services." https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/home-health-services (checked Oct 26, 2026, PT)
3. Medicare.gov (CMS). "What's home health care?" https://www.medicare.gov/what-medicare-covers/whats-home-health-care (checked Oct 26, 2026, PT)
4. Medicare.gov (CMS). "Medicare & Home Health Care," CMS Product No. 10969. https://www.medicare.gov/publications/10969-medicare-and-home-health-care.pdf (checked Oct 26, 2026, PT)

Last reviewed: October 26, 2026