A present VITAS is a leading provider of spice care services that is the end-of-life care brought to all patients when they call home. But just as many people, you may also ask if hospice services are the same as home health care. 

So let us view each of them and tell you the difference both have. 

Hospice Care:

Hospice care is comfort care for patients with a prognosis of six months or even less if their illness runs on its natural course. All of this must also be certified by a physician. The routine hospice care goes on wherever the patient calls home, a nursing home, private residence, assisted living community, or the residential care facility for older people. 

Daily care is given by the family caregiver and supported by an interdisciplinary team of hospice experts. This team would include physicians, nurses, chaplains, aides, volunteers, social workers, and bereavement counselors having additional specialties coming in when needed. All of the team members specialize in compassionate end-of-life care. 

In addition to all routine hospice care in homes, three other levels of care are carried out by

Medicare Hospice benefits:

• Inpatient care is temporary in an inpatient hospice unit or the hospital bed until the signs are under control and the patient is safe to return home. 
• Respite care transitions a patient temporarily to inpatient care in a facility certified by Medicare to give family caregivers a break of over 5 days and nights to get rid of stress or avoid burnout. 
• Continuous care includes round-to-clock attendance at a patient bedside by a hospice aide or a nurse to manage all acute symptom flare-ups per Medicare guidelines. 

The very common hospice services include the delivery of medications, equipment, and all supplies needed to manage patients’ hospice diagnoses. All of this is done at no charge to the family or patient. Along with this, you get 24/7/365 access to hospice experts that can answer your questions, dispatch clinicians to patients, and address crises when needed. They also give spiritual and psychosocial support to patients and families. 

What is home health care?

Home health care gives services to patients who need intermitted skilled nursing care, speech-language pathology services, physical therapy, or continued occupational services prescribed by the doctor. The patient’s progress should be documented. 

Home health care is mostly prescribed to treat chronic conditions or assist patients in recovering from surgery or injury. Unlike the care mentioned above, i.e., Hospice, a patient should be homebound to get Medicare benefits for home health care. The duration of home health services mainly depends on the patient’s care goals and plan. 

This home-health aid may ask the patients to pay for supplies, medications, and equipment. Home health services don’t cover the stays of patients if symptoms escalate and become unmanageable back home. Family caregivers of home health patients get training and education but don’t have access to additional psychological and social support layers that hospice caregivers enjoy. 

From the definitions and the services included in each, the difference between Hospice and home health care is all very clear. You may get many services in each, but only suitable care will do you the well you need.