From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Adult home care is health care or supportive care provided in the individuals home by healthcare professionals or by family and friends (also known as caregivers, primary caregiver, or voluntary caregivers who give informal care). Often, the term home care is used to distinguish non-medical care or custodial care, which is care that is provided by persons who are not nurses, doctors, or other licensed medical personnel, whereas the term home health care, refers to care that is provided by licensed personnel. Non medical home care include some of the following elements; Adult home care, care giving, home health care equipment & supplies, home health supplies & equipment, home medical equipment & supply, home medical supplies & equipment. In the US "Home care" and "home health care" are phrases that are used interchangeably regardless of whether the person requires skilled care or not. More recently, there is a growing movement to distinguish between "home health care" for skilled nursing care and "home care" for non-medical care.
The home care concept is to make it possible for people to remain at home rather than use a nursing home. Home Care providers help client's in their own home. These services may include some combination of professional health care and basic everyday assistance.
Professional Home Health services might include medical or psychological services, wound care, medication, pain management, disease education, physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy. Basic everyday living assistance services include help with daily tasks such as Meal Preparation, Medication reminders, Laundry, Light Housekeeping, Errands, Shopping, Transportation, and Companionship.In the United States and other parts of the world, the descriptions are very similar.
Estimates for the U.S. indicate that most home care is informal with families and friends providing a substantial amount of care. For formal care, the health care professionals most often involved are nurses followed by physical therapists and home care aides. Other health care providers include respiratory and occupational therapists, medical social workers and mental health workers. Home health care is generally paid for by health insurance, public payers (Medicare, Medicaid), or paid with the individuals own resources.
Activities of daily living (ADL) have six activities (bathing, dressing, transferring, using the toilet room, eating, and walking) and reflects the person's capacity for self-care.
Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) has six daily tasks (light housework, preparing meals, taking medications, shopping for groceries or clothes, using the telephone, and managing money) that enables people to live independently in the community. Help that an individual may have received from persons who are not staff of the agency (for example, family members, friends, or individuals employed directly by the patient and not by the agency) could be home maintenance or lawn-care.
