Home Care vs. Home Health Care

Home care usually focuses on non-medical daily assistance

Home-care agencies commonly help with activities such as bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, meal preparation, light housekeeping, errands, companionship, mobility assistance and supervision. The purpose is to help a person function safely and comfortably at home.

Careometry currently focuses on licensed non-medical home-care agencies and their documented service areas and care capabilities.

Home health care provides skilled clinical services

Medicare describes home health care as medically necessary skilled care that can include intermittent skilled nursing and therapy services when eligibility requirements are met and the care is ordered by an authorized provider.

A home health agency may also provide certain home health aide services when the Medicare coverage requirements are satisfied, but Medicare does not generally cover ongoing custodial care when personal care is the only need.

Some families need both types of service

After an illness, injury or hospital stay, one provider may be responsible for skilled nursing or therapy while a separate home-care agency helps with meals, bathing, mobility, supervision or other daily tasks.

The important question is not which label sounds better. It is which tasks require skilled clinical care, which tasks require non-medical assistance, and how the two services will coordinate when both are involved.

A simple way to decide what to investigate

• If the person needs nursing, wound care, injections or therapy, ask the treating provider whether home health is appropriate.
• If the person mainly needs help with personal care, meals, mobility, supervision or household tasks, compare non-medical home-care agencies.
• If both are needed, clarify which provider is responsible for each task and how schedules will overlap.