Families searching for care at home often encounter two terms that sound almost identical: home health care and home care.
Although both services are delivered in a person's residence, they are not the same.
The primary difference is that home health care provides clinical services from licensed healthcare professionals, while non-medical home care generally focuses on assistance with daily living and personal support.
What Is Skilled Home Health Care?
Home health care is clinical care provided in the patient's home under an individualized plan of treatment.
Depending on the patient's needs, services may include:
Skilled nursing
Physical therapy
Occupational therapy
Speech-language pathology
Medical social work
Home health aide services when appropriate as part of the plan of care
Patients receiving skilled home health often have a medical condition, recent hospitalization, surgery, functional decline, or rehabilitation need requiring professional clinical oversight.
What Is Non-Medical Home Care?
Non-medical home care focuses primarily on helping individuals remain safe and independent with everyday activities.
Services may include:
Personal care
Bathing and grooming assistance
Dressing assistance
Meal preparation
Companionship
Light housekeeping
Mobility assistance
Respite support
Assistance with routine daily activities
These services are generally not considered skilled clinical treatment.
Can Someone Receive Both?
Yes.
A patient may need skilled home health care for a temporary period following hospitalization while also requiring longer-term personal assistance.
For example, a patient recovering from surgery might receive physical therapy and skilled nursing through a home health agency while separately receiving assistance with meals, bathing, or household tasks through a non-medical home care provider.
The services can complement one another when properly coordinated.
Which Type of Care Is Appropriate?
The answer depends on the individual's needs.
Someone who needs help preparing meals and getting dressed may benefit primarily from non-medical home care.
Someone who needs wound care, nursing assessment, rehabilitation therapy, or clinical monitoring may require skilled home health.
In some circumstances, both types of services may be appropriate.
Start With the Patient's Needs
Families should focus first on what the individual needs to remain safe and continue progressing.
Questions to consider include:
Has the person recently been hospitalized?
Is there a medical condition requiring professional monitoring?
Has the person experienced a decline in mobility?
Is therapy needed?
Does the person need hands-on assistance with daily activities?
Are family caregivers struggling to safely manage the current level of care?
Healthcare professionals can help determine the appropriate level of support.
Percipience Home Health Care is being developed around a coordinated approach to skilled home health, with an emphasis on measurable progress, patient education, and safe recovery at home.
