Falls are one of the leading causes of seniors losing their independence, even if they are not affected by a medical condition. Home healthcare can provide genuine medical support in a patient’s home setting, as opposed to a hospital. However, ‘home care’ refers to non-medical support and traditional home health services to avoid the risk of falls and improve the quality of living for senior people at home, helping them retain their dignity and independence in later life.
Home healthcare services and home care can both be valuable resources for seniors recovering from illness or injury. While home healthcare and home care are distinct services, they work well when combined.
Modern health start-ups are putting increasing focus on treating patients from the comfort of their own homes. This article will detail the differences between home care and home healthcare, as we explain how we can optimize the two to provide better care for clients.
What is home healthcare?
Home healthcare services are provided within a client’s own home by fully qualified medical providers, and they can encompass an array of responsibilities and duties. Nurses specializing in physical therapy, social work, injection and IV therapy, wound care, and wound repair can often work in home healthcare roles.
A home healthcare worker will follow a doctor’s orders while in a client’s home environment. After bringing someone out of the hospital, nurses or other qualified healthcare providers may advise which treatments and duration will best benefit a patient.
Home health aides assist patients in recovering from surgeries, injuries, or illnesses. They also assist elderly adults, allowing them to leave the hospital sooner, even if they still need medical treatment.
What is home care?
Although healthcare and home care often appear similar, they differ significantly in scope and function.
A home caregiver assists in many aspects of household care services, including reminders for medication that they do not administer, helping with laundry, cooking, and cleaning, as well as providing companionship and transport.
Home care services provide non-medical and support services for anyone in need, not just seniors. A home caregiver will assist clients who cannot complete specific tasks on their own, such as those recovering from an accident or having a learning difficulty.
Home healthcare workers give patients medical treatment at home
Home healthcare workers typically visit several days a week to monitor their patients in compliance with guidelines outlined by Medicare or another medical institution. They usually stay for approximately an hour in each instance. Although home healthcare workers can provide companionship or household chore assistance when necessary, their primary responsibility is medical care alone.
Healthcare professionals can administer medications, monitor vitals, and offer physical therapy sessions. Additionally, their visits monitor progress and track any changes.
Healthcare professionals and home care businesses should always have insurance protection. Although the risks and challenges differ slightly, all individuals and agencies must be covered. If a patient’s health declines rather than improves or of accidental injury in a client’s home, you may be liable for a professional negligence claim, even if you were not there when it happened, or a decline in health is not your fault.
Home care workers help patients remain independent
Home care providers specialize in helping the patient complete in-home tasks. Home care aides do not possess healthcare authorities’ licenses to administer medication or provide healthcare services.
It is essential to remember that home care workers do not qualify as medical professionals. Since they do not fall under the purview of licensed nurses or therapists, they can only offer non-medical services. Home healthcare should be sought if any nursing or medical treatment is necessary. Home care workers provide disease-specific assistance, such as for seniors living with Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, or heart conditions.
Hire them both, and you will get two complementary services. Home care workers can assist clients in preparing nutritious meals and reminding them when to take medications – filling any gaps when the home health worker is not there.
Cost options for home healthcare and home care
Private health insurance must cover home healthcare, as medical professionals perform home visits to assess patients. Home healthcare services are more complex, so patients must qualify.
Home care services do not require eligibility. Anyone in need can receive assistance. Most patients opt to cover the costs themselves, and services can continue as long as the patient or family member desires.
Develop a care plan that specifies when and how home healthcare will begin and end and how it will be funded. With such an outline, you can determine whether additional or reduced care needs to be provided after health events and when regular hours should resume following successful recovery from illness or post-op healing.
In essence, then, a home healthcare worker provides essential medical administration and health support that requires them to be fully licensed. It is an alternative to a patient staying in hospital, allowing them the comfort of being in their home whilst still receiving adequate treatment. Meanwhile, home care workers make life easier for their clients by helping them with practical tasks and providing companionship and general daily assistance.
Even when home healthcare assistants attend appointments in their patients’ homes, providing care beyond prescribed medications, therapy, or rehabilitation exercises remains paramount. A client may require transportation services after surgery for checkups at hospitals or clinics or need help bathing, cleaning, and cooking if they are physically limited.
Home health workers require specific qualifications to provide this level of assistance, but home care workers can offer daily help alongside it. Now, hopefully, you should better understand the differences between the two and how support can be optimized for clients by having access to both.
