Home Care Services

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Patient Handouts

Summary

Home care is care that allows a person with special needs stay in their home. It might be for people who are getting older, are chronically ill, recovering from surgery, or disabled. Home care services include

• Personal care, such as help with bathing, washing your hair, or getting dressed
• Homemaking, such as cleaning, yard work, and laundry
• Cooking or delivering meals
• Health care, such as having a home health aide come to your home

You can get almost any type of help you want in your home. Some types of care and community services are free or donated. Many other types you have to pay for. Sometimes government programs or your health insurance will help cover the cost of certain home care services.

Start Here

• Home Care (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)
• Home Care Services: Questions to Ask (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Home Health Care
• Home Health Care: What It Is and What to Expect (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Adult Day Care
• Adult Day Services (National Adult Day Services Association) - PDF
• Alternatives to Nursing Homes (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
• End of Life (Hospice Care) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Telehealth: When Technology Meets Health Care (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Home Healthcare Medical Devices: A Checklist (Food and Drug Administration) - PDF
• Home Healthcare Medical Devices: Infusion Therapy - Getting the Most Out of Your Pump (Food and Drug Administration)
• Home Modifications
• Home Use Devices: How to Prepare for and Handle Power Outages for Medical Devices That Require Electricity (Food and Drug Administration) - PDF
• Respiratory Home Health Care (American Association for Respiratory Care)
• Speak Up: Help Prevent Errors in Your Care: Home Care (Joint Commission) - PDF Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Characteristics and Use of Home Health Care by Men and Women Aged 65 and Over (National Center for Health Statistics) - PDF
• FastStats: Home Health Care (National Center for Health Statistics)
• Home Health Care and Discharged Hospice Care Patients: United States, 2000 and 2007 (National Center for Health Statistics) - PDF
• National Home and Hospice Care Survey (National Center for Health Statistics)
• QuickStats: Percentage of Adult Day Services Center Participants, by Selected Diagnoses (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Home Care Services (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: The use of advanced medical technologies at home: a systematic...
• Article: Home versus in-patient treatment for deep vein thrombosis.
• Article: Home oxygen therapy: re-thinking the role of devices.
• Home Care Services -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Find and Compare Doctors, Plans, Hospitals, Suppliers and Other Providers (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
• Home Health Compare: Find a Home Health Agency (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Also in Spanish
• Meals on Wheels: Find a Meal (Meals on Wheels Association of America)

Patient Handouts

• Dementia - home care (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Home health care (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Home Healthcare Medical Devices: A Checklist (Food and Drug Administration) - PDF