Differences between Home Care and Home Health

Home care and home health care are two different services for people that need help living in their homes during physical rehab or when they become part of the elderly population. The services provided for each vary, but both services allow people to stay in their homes instead of going into nursing care.

Carer
Bay Area Home care includes services that last up to 24 hours a day and is considered non-medical or custodial care. The service provides support services such as light housekeeping to transporting a client to appointments. Home health professions provide care on an intermittent basis. They may come into the home for a few hours daily, every other day or another period of time that is best for the patient. Home health care professionals are licensed to provide that care and they include nurses, aids and social workers. Home health nurses can administer medication to their clients, while home health caregivers can only remind the patient to take their medications.

Durationr
Bay Area Live-in Care services can last for an indefinite amount of time. It can continue for a month to several years. Home health services last only as long as the patient needs the service, which is determined by the diagnosis. Someone that was in an accident may need a few months of care until they are ready to continue daily activities again. In this case, home health services would last a few months.

Conditionsr
When a patient goes into a home care situation, they are not housebound. They may still be able to drive and do whatever they want to do. A patient in home health care must be homebound. They cannot drive at the time of the service. A home health care client must have an order from a physician to have this type of care and a treatment plan is developed and maintained by the healthcare professional. This is not true with a home care client.

Financial Informationr
Home care services such as those provided by the Bay Area Senior Care, is paid for by private, long-term care insurance or by Medicaid. It does not accept payments from Medicare. Home health care services accept Medicare payments as long as the patient qualifies for those funds.

Home health care is like having a nurse in the home just until the patient is able to continue regular daily living. Home care can be 24 hours a day forever, but only provides non-professional services to the individual.