Elevate Your Agency: Why Home Health vs Home Care Matters for Efficient Management. Uncover the nuances guiding home health care agencies toward streamlined and effective services.

This blog will define the terms Home Health Care and Home Care, and then highlight the differences and similarities between the two services.

Overview

Home Health Care and Home Care are often used interchangeably throughout the Home Health Care industry. Both services are similar—both types of care take place in the patient’s home, and there are overlapping services between the two. The differences between Home Health Care and Home Care, however, are worth noting.

This blog will define the terms Home Health Care and Home Care, and then highlight the differences and similarities between the two services. Finally, this blog will explain why the difference matters, especially for Home Health Care Agencies who are looking for a more efficient way to manage one or more lines of service.

Definition of Home Health Care

Home Health Care is short-term, medical care in the home. Usually, Home Health Care is needed when the patient has a chronic medical condition, or when they need to recover from an injury, illness, or surgery after hospitalization.

Home Health Care is ordered by a physician when a patient meets the conditions to be homebound. To continue home health services, the patient must be certified to be homebound every 60 days by the physician. Home Health Care is covered, when ordered by a physician, by Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans, or by private insurance. Services include Skilled Nursing Care, Wound Care, Therapy Services, Home Health Aide services, and Medical Social Worker services.

Home Health Care can often be recognized as transitional care, medical social services, or skilled care. Care is often provided in short visits, and Home Health Agencies are paid a fixed fee per episode.

Definition of Home Care

Home Care is most often long-term, personal care provided in the home. Home Care is often needed when the patient needs help with daily activities to remain safe at home. Skilled Care, though most often associated with Home Health Care, can be classified under Home Care depending on the payer (Medicaid or private insurance).

Often, the patient chooses home care when they want to remain as independent as possible at home, though they may have difficulties with everyday tasks. Home Care is usually covered by Medicaid, Medicaid Waiver, private insurance, or private pay. Services may include transportation, meal preparation, medication reminders, and companionship. Bathing, toileting, dressing, grooming, and other household chores often fall under Home Care services. When Skilled Care is required, this may include medication administration, wound care, or other types of care that require a certified individual.

Patients may transition to Home Care when they run out of Home Health Care coverage. Home Care is also known as Home and Community Based Services and can be further grouped as Non-Medical Personal Care or Private Duty Nursing (PDN) care. Home Care Services are provided in shifts (hourly care) and agencies are paid for the time spent in 15-minute units.

Why the Difference Matters

Most Home Health Care Agencies know the difference between Home Health Care and Home Care. So why is it valuable to review the differences?

Not only is having on-hand knowledge of the differences between the two services valuable for staff training and patient education, but knowing the differences can help Home Health Care Agencies navigate the challenges of managing operations and take advantage of opportunities for growth through expanding services offered.

Agencies who provide one or both services should be discerning when selecting the right Home Care Agency Management Software. The best Home Health Software will differentiate between Home Health and Home Care and adapt to the services the agency provides.

For Home Health Care Agencies that provide multiple home-based services, the right Home Care Software will have:

ONE Patient record for all services, from which all care notes can be accessed.
ONE Employee record for intelligently scheduling split shifts, shift differentials, and overtime management.
eMAR, eTAR, and Continuous Care Flow Sheets for Private Duty Nursing care.
Authorization management and Plan of Care.
ONE Clinical view pulled from the patient record.
Care Coordination to create a smooth care continuum across multiple services.
EVV that is integrated into the caretaker’s or clinician’s daily tasks, that interfaces with all states and aggregators.
Billing and AR that is integrated with authorizations and scheduling to reduce claim rejections.
Reports and Dashboards that facilitate clean claim submission and show overall agency health and growth.

Conclusion

Most patients who receive Home Care also receive Home Health Care at several intervals. Many patients who meet the requirements for physician-ordered Home Health Care often choose to extend care by opting into Home Care with an agency of their choice. This existing care continuum provides a growth opportunity for Home Health Care Agencies who are hoping to expand services. Those agencies can benefit from investing in the right Home Care Management Software.

The right Home Health Software will differentiate between Home Health Care and Home Care and provide the right tools for agencies to manage both services concurrently to improve quality of care, patient and employee satisfaction, and bottom line.

About CareVoyant

CareVoyant is a leading provider of cloud-based integrated enterprise-scale home health care software that can support all home-based services under ONE Software, ONE Patient, and ONE Employee, making it a Single System of Record. We support all home based services, including Home Care, Private Duty Nursing, Private Duty Non-Medical, Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), Home Health, Pediatric Home Care, and Outpatient Therapy at Home.

CareVoyant functions – Intake, Authorization Management, Scheduling, Clinical with Mobile options, eMAR/eTAR, Electronic Visit Verification (EVV), Billing/AR, Secure Messaging, Notification, Reporting, and Dashboards – streamline workflow, meet regulatory requirements, improve quality of care, optimize reimbursement, improve operational efficiency and agency bottom line.

For more information, please visit CareVoyant.com or call us at 1-888-463-6797.