Home Care Services
What kinds of home care services are available?
Why are there so many types of providers?
Our system is fragmented. There are so many providers in our system, number one, because the issues are complex, and we have really three different systems that are working, and often times not together. One is the medical system, again, that people are most often familiar with that's the doctors, the hospitals, the nursing homes and the like. Then we have the community services, which involve the senior centers, the home-care providers, the professional associations like Alzheimer's Association, the Diabetes Association and the like. And then the third is the legal and financial systems that provide services for the people that are considering long-term care, and these are the insurance agents that are selling health insurance and long-term care insurance. The financial planners that are making sure you have the money to take care of yourself in old age, and the attorneys to make sure that you're legally protected, and your family's protected or taken care of should the need arise.
What medical services do home care agencies provide?
Medical services from home health agencies are provided by licensed home health care agencies. These agencies are licensed by the state. They generally provide services reimbursed by insurance companies, most commonly for older adults by Medicare but also other insurance. They can include anything from skilled nurses to physical therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, bathers, and it is piggybacked onto those services, and finally hospice care if needed.
What is non-medical home care?
Non-medical home care, which is sometimes also known as custodial care are those services that are provided to individuals that does not need the licensee scheme skill professionals. So, these services can be personal care needs, which called the activities of daily living, and also the instrumentally activities of daily living and the other kind of services in terms of maintaining a household and enabling somebody to stay in the home. TEXT: Activities Of Daily Living: Bathing, Dressing, Toilet, Moving about, Eating, and Continence.
Which type of home care is in higher demand, medical or non-medical?
In the sheer number, in terms of demand for home care, in terms of the sheer numbers, the in-home non-medical care providers is reaching a crisis of getting good non-medical care providers. We now also have a shortage of nurses. It is extremely difficult and prohibitively expensive to hire and even find skilled care providers. We have a crisis on both ends.
Who provides medical home care visits?
Medical home care visits are provided generally by licensed home health agencies and sometimes by private duty nurses that are independent contractors.
Who provides non-medical home care services?
Non-medical home care services are provided by independent contractors, and by home care agencies.
Can I find home care that will provide physical therapy?
Home care that provides physical therapy is generally through a licensed home care agency, or independent licensed physical therapist.
Will home care help me with my medication regimen?
Home care, non-medical home care providers can do the prompting and reminding for home care. It will take a skilled person, in most states, to be able to set up and figure out the medication plan. Sometimes that's the family member that lays out the medication, and then the non-medical home provider will remind and prompt to give the medication. Sometimes it's a nurse in more complicated situations.
Does home care administer daily intravenous medication?
No, medical homecare is not permitted by law to provide intravenous medication. It has to be done by a skilled person or by an agency that is licensed to provide injections.
Will home care provide speech therapy services?
Speech therapy services are provided by licensed home health agencies or licensed speech therapists that are working independently.
What kind of nutritional and dietary services does home care offer?
Again, dietary services are provided by registered dieticians. They can be found independently through hospitals or through licensed home health agencies.
What is adult day care?
Adult day care is a non-medical facility almost like a nursery school for older adults, and they can be divided into several kinds. Some are social day care situations that they provide full-day entertainment, meals, and other activities for older adults that are physically frail. There are special adult day cares that are for people that suffer for dementia and there are adult day health cares that are often reimbursed by Medicaid and Medicare for people that have criteria that matches nursing home standards, and those have medical oversight.
