Frequently asked questions
The questions of those deciding right now, and those of the sector. If yours is not here, write to the association.
For families
If a relative of yours is being discharged.
Start with these. They are the questions of someone who has just heard the words post-acute care from a doctor for the first time.
The doctor mentioned a post-acute care hospital. What is that?
It is a hospital for the next stage of recovery, centred on rehabilitation. Your relative is past the critical phase but still needs care that cannot be given at home: fluids, oxygen, daily physiotherapy and speech therapy, relearning how to walk and swallow. They stay for a defined period, with the goal of regaining autonomy and going home.
Is it the same as a care home or nursing home?
No. A care home, a nursing home and an ILPI are housing: the person goes to live there, with no end date. A post-acute care hospital is an admission with an end date, a clinical team and a recovery goal. They are different things, for different needs.
How long does the admission last?
It depends on the case and on the team caring for the patient. It is longer than a stay in an acute hospital, because regaining function takes time, and it has an expected discharge date from the outset.
How do we get a place?
It starts inside the hospital where the patient is admitted. Talk to the doctor in charge and to the hospital's social work or discharge team: they make the transfer request and know the institutions in the area. If there is private health insurance, the operator has to authorise it, and its helpline is what tells you which providers are covered. ABRAHCT is the sector association: it does not admit patients, arrange places or recommend treatment.
Who pays for the admission?
In most cases, private health insurance or the family. Cover depends on the contract, and the operator confirms it before the admission. There is also a much smaller share of beds serving the public health system: the survey released by Medicina S/A in April 2025 recorded 181 such beds out of 2,573 in operation. Ask the hospital's social work team what exists in your area.
About the sector
Definitions and how it works.
What is a post-acute care hospital?
It is the health institution that cares for patients recovering from acute illness who are not yet able to return home. It sits between the acute care hospital and home care, with multidisciplinary teams specialised in recovery and rehabilitation programmes.
Are a post-acute care hospital and a post-acute care clinic the same thing?
On this site, yes: the association's own name — Brazilian Association of Post-Acute Care Hospitals and Clinics — brings both designations together, and they refer to the same type of unit.
What is the difference between a post-acute care hospital and home care?
In the post-acute care hospital the patient stays admitted, accompanied by a multidisciplinary team, in a rehabilitation programme. Home care continues the care at the patient's home. The post-acute care hospital is the stage between the acute care hospital and going home.
What is the difference between a post-acute care hospital and a long-term care home (ILPI)?
The post-acute care hospital is a health establishment: it admits patients recovering from an acute episode, for a defined period, with a multidisciplinary team and discharge as the goal. The ILPI — Brazil's long-term care institution for older people — is defined by the health regulator Anvisa (RDC 502/2021) as a residential institution, a collective home for people aged 60 or over. One is an admission with a beginning and an end; the other is housing.
Who is a post-acute care hospital for?
For patients who have come through the acute phase of an illness but are not yet able to return home. The referral is always a decision of the medical team caring for the patient — ABRAHCT is the sector association and does not provide care or recommend treatment.
Which professionals work in a post-acute care hospital?
The interdisciplinary team in these units brings together physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, dietitians, psychologists and social workers, with the family actively involved.
What is a step-down hospital?
It is one of the services that ABRAHCT's membership categories list alongside post-acute care clinics and hospitals and palliative care. Full member institutions work mainly in these services.
How long does a stay in a post-acute care hospital last?
It depends on each case and on the decision of the team caring for the patient. As a sector reference, the Sector Diagnosis released by Medicina S/A in April 2025 recorded an average stay of 57 days across the institutions mapped.
Did not find your question?
Write to abrahct@abrahct.org.br. If you are looking for a place for a relative, the route is in Our members: the association does not admit patients, and contact is made directly with each institution.