A group of services that help people receive care at home when they are ill, disabled, recovering from illness or surgery, or dying. Key Words community care, home care, home support, palliative care, respite care, supportive care, telehealth, tele-home care Home care is a group of services that allows people with health problems to live as well and as independently as possible, in their own homes and communities.
Home care designed to give caregivers a break is called respite care .
A new and growing source of home care is tele-home care or telehealth, which uses information and communication technologies to deliver patient care at home. Most home care services are publicly funded but a growing proportion is paid for by private insurance plans, charitable organizations and by individuals out of their own pockets. Patients and families also bear the indirect costs of lost employment opportunities, lost wages, unpaid family labour as well as the psychological, social, physical and economic burdens. A wide range of homemaking and personal support services provided by family members, friends, neighbours, government agencies, community agencies and organizations, private agencies and individuals. The demand for home care has skyrocketed, now that health care has moved from the hospital back into the home.