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 to stay in their home. It might be for people who are getting older (aging in place). It could also be for people who 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
• Household chores, such as cleaning, yard work, and laundry
• Cooking for you in your home or delivering meals to you
• Money management, such as help filling out forms and making sure that your bills are paid on time
• Health care, such as having a home health aide come to your home or getting care from your provider through telehealth

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

NIH: National Institute on Aging

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

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: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Home Healthcare Medical Devices: A Checklist (Food and Drug Administration)
• 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

Statistics and Research

• Characteristics and Use of Home Health Care by Men and Women Aged 65 and Over (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: Home medical nutrition during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic - A position paper.
• Article: Peritoneal Dialysis in the time of COVID-19.
• Article: Overcoming Barriers for Uptake and Continued Use of Home Dialysis: An...
• 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)