Home Care vs. Home Health: What's the Difference?

Here's a plain-English guide from Heritage Senior Care, a family-owned, non-medical home care agency serving North County San Diego since 1983.

The short answer

Home care (also called non-medical home care or in-home care) is help with daily life: bathing, dressing, meals, housekeeping, transportation, companionship and supervision. Trained caregivers provide it, and families choose the schedule.

Home health is medical care at home, such as skilled nursing, physical or occupational therapy, and wound care. Licensed clinicians provide it on a physician's order, usually for a limited time.

Side-by-side comparison

What it includes
Home care: Bathing, dressing, toileting, meals, light housekeeping, laundry, errands, transportation, companionship, medication reminders, supervision
Home health: Skilled nursing, physical/occupational/speech therapy, wound care, medical monitoring

Who provides it
Home care: Trained, background-checked caregivers employed by a home care agency
Home health: Nurses, therapists and aides working for a home health agency

Does it need a doctor's order?
Home care: No
Home health: Yes

Typical schedule
Home care: Flexible: a few hours up to overnight or 24-hour care, for as long as it's helpful
Home health: Scheduled visits under a plan of care, usually for a limited period

What home care looks like day to day

A home care caregiver might arrive in the morning, help your mother shower and dress, make breakfast, remind her to take her morning medications, tidy the kitchen, drive her to the hair salon, and keep her company through the afternoon. For someone living with dementia, the caregiver may stay through the evening and overnight. None of that is medical, and all of it can be what makes living at home possible.

At Heritage Senior Care, families choose from three levels of non-medical support:

• Daily Living: companionship, meals, light housekeeping, laundry, errands, prescription pick-up, transportation, and medication and appointment reminders

• Personal Care: everything above, plus hands-on help with bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting and incontinence care, mobility and transfers, and special diets

• Bedside Care: everything above for someone who spends much of the day in bed, with support for the family. Our caregivers can work alongside a hospice team

We have a 4-hour visit minimum and no long-term contracts. See our services, 24-hour care and Alzheimer's and dementia care.

What home health looks like

Home health visits are focused and clinical. A nurse checks a healing incision, a physical therapist works on walking after a hip replacement, a nurse teaches a new medication routine. Visits are usually short and follow a plan of care, and they end when the medical goals are met.

Many families use both

The two services complement each other. After a hospital stay, a home health nurse or therapist may visit a few times a week, while a home care caregiver helps with everything in between: meals, safe trips to the bathroom, bathing, rides to follow-up appointments, and simply not being alone. Our caregivers are glad to work alongside your loved one's home health or hospice team. For the ride home and the first days back, see our post-hospital transportation.

Want to understand hospice too? Read our guide: Differences Between Home Care, Home Health, and Hospice.

How to tell which one you need

1. Does your loved one need a nurse or therapist to do something medical? Talk with the doctor or discharge planner about home health.

2. Do they need help with bathing, dressing, meals, getting around, or someone there so they're not alone? That's home care.

3. Both? Very common, especially in the weeks after a hospital or rehab stay.

Non-medical home care in North County San Diego

Heritage Senior Care has provided non-medical in-home care since 1983. We're a family-owned, licensed California Home Care Organization (HCO #374700058) based in Carlsbad, serving Carlsbad, Encinitas, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Escondido, Poway and the rest of North County San Diego. Each of our caregivers completes a Live Scan fingerprint background check through the FBI and the California Department of Justice.

We do not provide home health, nursing or medical care.

Schedule a free in-home assessment · (760) 720-7740, available 24/7

Frequently asked questions

Is home care the same as home health care?
No. Home care is non-medical help with daily living, personal care and companionship. Home health care is medical care, such as nursing or therapy, ordered by a doctor.

Does home care require a doctor's order?
No. Families can arrange non-medical home care directly with a home care agency.

Can home care and home health be used at the same time?
Yes. Many families use home health for medical visits and home care for daily help in between, especially after a hospital stay.

Can a home care caregiver give medications?
Heritage Senior Care caregivers give medication reminders. They do not administer medication or perform medical tasks.

How long can someone receive home care?
As long as it's helpful. Home care isn't tied to a medical plan of care. At Heritage there are no long-term contracts, and care can be increased, reduced or paused.