Home Care and Hospice Care industry Definitions

Home Care

Homecare - professional care that an individual receives in the home. Homecare aides provide companionship and assistance with the activities of daily living (ADLs), such as eating, bathing and dressing. They may also help with light household chores or transportation needs. You can hire homecare aides either on your own or through an agency. There are three types of homecare: agency, referral and private hire. Many agencies and caregivers specialize in specific types of care, such as rehabilitation or dementia.

Home care is a broad term that describes a wide variety of health and health-related services provided in the home or community. Home care is available to people of all ages with either acute or chronic conditions, as well as the disabled and terminally ill. The home care staff will work with the patient and their families to teach them about their condition as well as how to care for themselves or the patient, so that the patient can be as independent as possible.
The demand for home care has grown for many reasons. As our elderly population increases, more patients and their families prefer to stay at home rather than be in a hospital or a nursing home. Improvements in medical science and technology allow many treatments, that could once be done only in a hospital, now be done at home. In addition, home care is usually less expensive and can often be just as effective as care in a hospital or skilled nursing facility.

Homecare is sometimes confused with home health care. The biggest difference is this: home health must be prescribed by your doctor and it includes skilled nursing care. A doctor’s prescription for home health care only will be issued if he or she feels it is medically necessary for nurses or health aides to come to your home and provide you with skilled care. In addition, home health care nurses can administer medication, but in-home care aides can only provide reminders to take your medicine. Both home health care and homecare provide companionship and assistance with ADLs. Some people engage both services simultaneously, as they complement each other well. The cost of homecare is significantly less, as these caregivers do not provide skilled care.