Home Care Health Article

Definition

Home care is a form of health care service provided where a patient lives. Patients can receive home care services whether they live in their own homes, with or without family members, or in an assisted living facility. The purpose of home care is to promote, maintain, or restore a patient's health and reduce the effects of disease or disability.

Description

The goal of home care is to provide for the needs of the patient to allow the patient to remain living at home, regardless of age or disability. After surgery, a patient may require home care services that may range from such homemaking services as cooking or cleaning to skilled medical care. Some patients require home health aides or personal care attendants to help them with activities of daily living (ADL).

Medical, dental, and nursing care may all be delivered in patients' homes, which allows them to feel more comfortable and less anxious. Therapists from speech-language pathology, physical therapy, and respiratory therapy departments often make regular home visits, depending on a patient's specific needs. General nursing care is provided by both registered and licensed practical nurses; however, there are also nurses who are clinical specialists in psychiatry, obstetrics, and cardiology who may provide care when necessary. Home health aides provide what is called custodial care in domestic settings; their duties are similar to those of nurses' aides in the hospital. Professionals who deliver care to patients in their homes are employed either by independent for-profit home-care agencies, hospital agencies, or hospital departments. Personal care attendants can also be hired privately by patients; however, not only is it more difficult to evaluate an employee's specific background and credentials when he or she is not associated with a certified agency or hospital, but medical insurance may not cover the expense of an employee who does not come from an approved source.

Home care nurses provide care for patients of every age, economic class, and level of disability. Some nurses provide specialized hospice, mental health, or pediatric care. Home care nursing often involves more than biomedically based care, depending on a patient's religious or spiritual background.