Home Care Services (Print Version)

Also called: Also called: In-home care

Home care is care that allows a person with special needs stay in their home. It might be for people who are getting older, are chronically ill, recovering from surgery or disabled. Home care services include

Personal care, such as help with bathing, washing your hair or getting dressed
Homemaking, such as cleaning, yard work and laundry
Cooking or delivering meals
Health care, such as having a home health aide come to your home

You can get almost any type of help you want in your home. Some types of care and community services are free or donated. Many other types you have to pay for. Sometimes government programs or your health insurance will help cover the cost of certain home care services.

Start Here

There's No Place Like Home -- For Growing Old(National Institute on Aging) - http://www.niapublications.org/tipsheets/home.asp

Overviews

Home Care Services: Questions to Ask(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/home-care-services/HO00084/METHOD=print
Home Care Services: What Services Do You Need?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/home-care-services/HA00086/METHOD=print

Latest News

Report Offers Resources for Home Health Care Response during a Flu Pandemic(07/08/2008, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) - http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2008/hhcflupr.htm

Related Issues

Adult Day Care(Administration on Aging) - Multi-language site - http://www.eldercare.gov/eldercare/Public/resources/fact_sheets/adult_day.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.eldercare.gov/eldercare/Public/resources/fact_sheets/pdfs/fs_Adult%20Day%20Care_Spanish.pdf
Adult Day Care: Selecting Quality Providers(National Adult Day Services Association) - http://www.nadsa.org/quality_providers/default.asp
Alternatives to Nursing Home Care(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.medicare.gov/nursing/alternatives.asp
Evaluating Physicians Who Offer House Calls: A Guide for Patients and Families(American Academy of Home Care Physicians) - http://www.aahcp.org/patienteducation.shtml
Helping You Choose Quality Home Care and Hospice Services(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) - http://www.jointcommission.org/GeneralPublic/Choices/hc_ome.htm
Home Care for Cancer Patients(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/support/home-care
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/rehabilitation/home-care-spanish
Home Modification(Administration on Aging) - http://www.eldercare.gov/eldercare/Public/resources/fact_sheets/home_mod.asp
How Do I Hire a Home Care Employee?(Administration on Aging) - http://www.aoa.gov/prof/aoaprog/caregiver/carefam/taking_care_of_others/wecare/hire.aspx
Myth about Home Care: Assisted Living Programs Substitute for Skilled Home Care Services(American Academy of Home Care Physicians) - http://www.aahcp.org/almyth.shtml
Myths about Home Care: Home Care Is Only for the Homebound(American Academy of Home Care Physicians) - http://www.aahcp.org/homebound.shtml
Respiratory Home Health Care(American Association for Respiratory Care) - http://www.yourlunghealth.org/healthy_living/living/resp_home_care/
What Should I Ask When Considering a Home Care Agency?(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/eto/content/eto_2_5x_what_should_i_ask_when_considering_a_home_care_agency.asp?sitearea=mlt
What Types of Services Do Home Care Providers Deliver?(National Association for Home Care & Hospice) - http://www.nahc.org/famcar_types.html
Who Provides Home Care?(National Association for Home Care & Hospice) - http://www.nahc.org/famcar_who.html

Financial Issues

Medicare and Home Health Care(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - Large PDF file - http://www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/10969.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/10969_s.pdf
Medicare's Home Health Benefit: Getting Started(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - Links to PDF - http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/11357.pdf
What Are the Standard Billing and Payment Practices (for Home Care Services)?(National Association for Home Care & Hospice) - http://www.nahc.org/famcar_standard.html
Who Pays for Home Care Services?(National Association for Home Care & Hospice) - http://www.nahc.org/famcar_whopays.html

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Home Care Services(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Home+Care+Services%22

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Common first aid mistakes and how to avoid them. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18688985&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Technologies for an aging society: a systematic review of "smart... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18660873&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Ethical dilemma and resolution:a case scenario. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18630218&tool=MedlinePlus
Home Care Services -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=home+care+services[majr]+NOT+neoplasms/th[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Directories

American Association of Homes and Services Directory(American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging) - http://www2.aahsa.org/section.aspx?id=280
Home Care or Hospice Agency Locator(National Association for Home Care & Hospice) - http://www.nahc.org/agencylocator/home.html
Home Health Compare(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - http://www.medicare.gov/hhcompare/home.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.medicare.gov/HHCompare/home.asp?language=Spanish

Organizations

Administration on Aging - http://www.aoa.gov/
American Academy of Home Care Physicians - http://www.aahcp.org/

Law and Policy

Older Americans Act(Administration on Aging) - http://www.aoa.gov/about/legbudg/oaa/legbudg_oaa.aspx
What Are My Rights As a Patient?(National Association for Home Care & Hospice) - http://www.nahc.org/famcar_rights.html

Statistics

FASTATS: Home Health Care(National Center for Health Statistics) - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homehealthcare.htm
National Home and Hospice Care Data(National Center for Health Statistics) - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/nhhcsd/nhhcschart.htm

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Assisted Living - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/assistedliving.html
Caregivers - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/caregivers.html
Health System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthsystem.html
Seniors - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/seniors.html