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Home care and home health care are two terms that are often confused.
As families start searching for help for their senior, they frequently see two terms side by side: home care and home health care. They are called similar, but not synonymous. Families can help in determining what help may be appropriate by understanding the difference between home care and home health care.
This is understandable, as both types of care can be delivered in the individual’s home. The purpose, services and professionals, however, may vary.
In general, when people ask themselves, what is home care, it is support and help with daily tasks and functions that allows the person to live as comfortable and independent as possible. Home health care, in contrast, is typically used to describe health care-related services that are provided in the home.
An understanding of the difference can help to facilitate informed discussions about care options and determine potential care needs.
So, what is home care?
Home care typically is goal-oriented at assisting a person with daily living tasks, while maintaining his or her independence in the home. The support can be customized to the person’s usual daily routine, personal preferences and level of independence.
Older adults may find it harder to do what they used to be able to do or what they find easy. These could be areas in which additional support is beneficial such as preparing meals, helping with the home/environment, attending appointments or providing companionship.
These practical aspects of daily life can be supported with home care, whilst the person will stay in their familiar environment.
The specific kind and extent of support may be different for each individual. For some, it may be required to assist them occasionally; and for others, it may be necessary to visit them more regularly.
The Common Areas of Home Care Support Include:
Home care can consist of the following types of support, depending on the person’s need:
It’s not always about replacing all that a person does. Rather, an appropriate support can assist a person to stay doing what they can, with assistance in areas where they are finding it more difficult.
Home health care is typically related to the health-care needs, and can be carried out by certified health-care professionals. They are usually linked to an individual’s medical condition, recovery, treatment, and/or life-long health needs.
For instance, a person recovering at home following an illness, surgery or medical event might need something more than normal household assistance for their health care needs.
The kind of service to be provided will be dependent on the health status of the individual and the type of services prescribed or recommended by appropriate health professionals.
This is not just another way to say ‘general assistance at home’ since home health care has a specific and different definition. It is more related to health care requirements.
Home care is different from home health care, and their primary difference is the level of care.
The easiest way to describe home care vs home health care is to think of the main purpose of each.
Home care typically focuses on “daily living and personal support” while home health care focuses on “healthcare-related needs.”
| Home Care | Home Health Care |
| Is concerned with daily living and personal care | Is concerned with health-related needs |
| Can include companionship | May involve healthcare services |
| May help with eating and light housework duties | May help with medical or recovery tasks |
| Can help with transport and routines | Provided as per health care needs |
| Supports independence at home | Supports health and recovery at home |
In some cases, both can coexist when someone’s needs are for daily help and health care assistance.
This explains the significance of knowing the difference.
It’s important to understand the difference between home care and home health care so that the decision to provide support can start with determining the person’s real support needs.
One of the first things a family may consider is that the older member requires “health care” just because they are having some problems at home. But the difficulties do not have to be medical but day-to-day situations.
For instance, an older person might be able to take care of their health by themselves but have difficulties cooking, cleaning and doing housework, getting around, or being alone for long periods.
In another case, the person may need certain health or healthcare services due to a sickness or injury, or due to a long-term health need or due to the recovery from a sickness or injury.
Understanding this distinction can equip families to ask more pertinent questions in considering care options.
An important function of home care is to assist persons to stay in their own environment.
Senior citizens might prefer to remain in their own home for familiarity, comfort and independence. When a person requires assistance, but it does not necessarily mean that they must exit their home.
A well-designed home care system can help with the areas where assistance is needed and help keep the person in their routine.
The type of support may also vary from time to time. This could start off with occasional support and increase to more frequent support depending on the situation.
This flexibility is a factor that can make home care an option for families when daily living becomes challenging.
When you examine the level of care that is needed, you can understand the difference between home care and home health care. Both may occur at home but are directed towards different needs.
If a person has difficulty with day to day activities, home care can help. If a person needs health-related services in their home, he or she might need home health care. Sometimes, an individual can need both types of assistance.
This is why it is useful to know the difference between home care and home health care so you don’t assume that one is always superior to the other.
Every day needs of the person can form the basis of home care. The nature of the assistance might differ from one person to another based upon the extent of support needed.
Common areas of support might relate to:
It is to offer assistance and not remove the individual’s independence.
Watching someone to help with daily tasks can make it easier for an older adult to stay in their home. Support may also help families to feel reassured when they cannot be there all day.
Home health care is not the same since it is centered on healthcare needs.
Depending on the person’s needs, home health care services can include care provided by qualified healthcare professionals in the person’s home. The services are typically linked to a medical condition, treatment, recovery, and/or other health needs.
For this reason, families need to think about the why before making a selection of the two.
In cases where your main problem is assistance for daily living, home care might be more useful. If the person needs healthcare-related help, home health care might be a good option.
Yes, both supports can be used at the same time.
An individual could require assistance with daily living tasks, but also be provided with healthcare services at home. Under these conditions, various types of support can be used in combination as appropriate to the individual’s situation.
For instance, an older person could require help with eating, keep company, or with chores, or have health care services related to a long-term illness or a recovery.
Families can learn the difference between home care and home health care, and realize that they are not mutually exclusive services.
There are no absolute answers for everyone.
This will vary depending on the type of support that is needed and the reasons for needing support at home.
| If the main need is… | Consider… |
| Companionship | Home health care |
| Help with daily routines | Home health care |
| Meal preparation | Home health care |
| Light housekeeping | Home health care |
| Personal care assistance | Home health care |
| Health related or medical needs | Home health care |
| Healthcare support related to recovery | Home health care |
The first step is critical, however, not just to select a service by its name but to determine the need itself.
Both can be confusing as both provide care in the home. When a family is looking for information on what is home care, they may also find information on what is home health care, which can be confusing to the family.
Both have an element of “care” in them, but with a different emphasis.
Home care typically is devoted to the functional and personal needs of daily life. Home health care is any health related service that may be provided at home.
This simple distinction can help families have more meaningful dialogues with care providers and health care workers about the care and services that their loved one truly needs.
Care needs can be permanent but are not always predictable.
An individual might require just a little support for daily tasks at first. Later on, mobility, health, recovery and independence may change and more support might be needed.
Likewise, an individual who’s come home from a specific health event to receive home health care might eventually need less health-related care and still enjoy the benefits of routine home care.
That’s why you need to make care choices based on a person’s current situation and reassess these choices when their needs are changing.
The aim is not to just pick any two labels. It is to provide suitable support for the person that is needed and will keep him/her feeling comfortable and independent.
The first step to understanding home care vs home health care is to recognize the difference between the two. Then the question is what kind of help is required.
A good first step for families is to observe the person’s daily routine and determine where the problems are happening. Is it the main problem to complete activities of daily living or health related need for professional healthcare services?
This distinction may assist families to talk about the kind of support they require.
When you’re considering an option, keep in mind:
These questions can be useful to help families not get caught up in selecting a service due to similar names.
Home care can help with day-to-day tasks and allow the person needing the care to live in a familiar environment.
Companionship, meals, chores, transportation, personal care, and other daily activities are among the forms of support that may be provided depending on the person’s unique needs.
The goal is to help to the appropriate degree while not doing the tasks for the person.
This may be a significant choice for individuals who wish to maintain their usual activities at home and get assistance when necessary.
Home health care is a different matter. Services that are necessities for the person’s health are the ones that are provided in the home.
This could be important after a sickness, injury, surgery, or if someone has an existing health need that must be attended to.
Knowing what home health care is can, then, help families separate the healthcare services from help with their regular daily needs.
In certain cases, an individual can require both home health care and home care.
For instance, one person might require health related services, but also need help with meals, companionship, transportation, and/or household tasks.
Under these circumstances, the two types of assistance may be used differently.
| Support for home care is provided for the following: | Home health care is provided for the following: |
| Daily activities | Health-related needs |
| Companionship | Healthcare services |
| Meals | Recovery-related needs |
| Light LK, Ongoing health Needs | Personal care is provided by them; professional healthcare support are provided by them. |
What always has to be taken into account is always the individual’s needs, and not the fact that one type of care can be substituted with another.
When families are considering care alternatives for themselves or a family member, it is important to differentiate between home care and home health care.
Home care is usually aimed at assisting with daily activities and remaining independent at home while home health care is directed at health-related issues. In some instances, both could be used.
Decide on a service based on the person’s needs, preferences, daily routine, and support needs instead of the name of the service.
Knowing these needs can enable families to make an informed choice of the care type that can help to support comfortable and independent living at home.
The principal difference between home care and home health care is their emphasis. Home care tends to be for day-to-day or personal tasks, whereas home health care is for health tasks in the home.
Explain what home care is. It typically involves personal and practical support to enable a person to care for him or herself at home.
Typically, it’s a health care service offered in the home to address a specific health care need.
Yes. Everyday home care and health related services can both be relevant for an individual depending on their situation.
Firstly try and determine if it’s a need for an everyday activity and personal support or for health-related care. When in doubt, talking to the relevant care or healthcare professional about the person’s needs can help to determine the options.
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