Between Medicare and insurance she is being sent home without proper...My 87 year old mother has had up to 4 narcotics at a time and her family doctor will send her home to a 80 year old caretaker that is hard of hearing. She has severe back pain and arthritis and needs to build her strength and get off narcotics to help with her confusion. She re- injures herself with falls. I think her doctor is not addressing the real concern. He listens to her altered mind from narcotics that he is more than willing to put her on. Insurance and Medicare enables this vicious cycle at my mother's expense. She has always been sharp as a tack. With the proper rehab, I am positive we can get her back. Is there an agency that could help us. We cannot financially afford to do it on our own.
I'm wondering if your mother has seen an orthopedic doctor for her back and arthritis issues. If she does, and it's recommended that she take Celebrex or Vioxx, think twice. These meds have had serious consequences and are the subject of lawsuits.
Until you find a better doctor, you might ask this one what non-narcotic alternatives can your mother use.
You're right on the hospitalization, although I thought it was 3 days of hospitalization before being able to go to rehab with Medicare paying.
Medicare would pay for rehab in a facility, up to a certain point, assuming she's making progress. I don't recall now how many days it is before Medicare wouldn't pay, but you could contact Medicare directly and ask that, or ask the hospital's discharge planner.
And get rid of that doctor; find another one.
If she's in a rehab facility, talk with the social worker about home care; the rehab facility would have its own doctor who oversees her care and could script for home care. It's not as thorough as rehab in a facility, but it will help.