Homecare Glossary

In-home care provided for a continuous 24-hour period, or full day (i.e. excluding the night). Also known as “around the clock home care.”

ADLs describe basic tasks that are essential for day-to-day functioning. These include bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, mobility (such as getting from your bed to a chair, or from the kitchen to the living room), and toileting.

A sudden and severe condition.

Advance directives are instructions that an individual has prepared in the event they become terminally ill and unable to communicate their wishes. The instructions generally regard the type and duration of life-sustaining treatment that they desire. They are typically prepared documents, such as a living will and durable power of attorney.

The term “aging in place” refers to seniors who choose to remain in their home as they get older instead of moving to an independent or assisted living community.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease and serious brain disorder that destroys memory and other important mental functions—including communication, behavior, and thinking. While different from senility, many symptoms are similar in nature.

Ambulation refers to the ability to walk from place to place independently— with or without assistive devices.

AAA are a resource for elderly and disabled individuals. The goal of these agencies is to help elderly and disabled individuals remain in their own home and community for as long as possible; enabling them to make their own decisions, and retain their independence.

Determination of an individual’s care needs.

CMS is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, which finances and administers the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

This refers to the comprehensive and coordinated process of activities that begin with the client being referred to us. Both administrative and clinical, care management continues through admission planning, start of care, and ongoing care until the client’s discharge or transfer from Outreach.

Outreach employees who provide care to our clients are referred to as Outreach caregivers, care professionals, or healthcare professionals.

Case management refers to the process of identifying individuals’ special health care needs, developing a health care strategy that meets those needs, and coordinating and monitoring care. Typically, case management is provided by a health professional in their area of practice, such as an insurance company, state Medicaid program, or hospital.

Outreach Health partners with Marketplace Chaplains to provide support and care to employees, clients, families, and friends.

Chronic health conditions are conditions that last one-year or more and require ongoing medical attention, or limit activities of daily living, or both. 80% of seniors have at least one chronic health condition and 68% have two or more. Older adults can maximize health and quality of life by managing symptoms from existing health conditions and reducing the risk of developing other conditions. Examples of chronic conditions are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes.

Also known as chronic obstructive lung disease, COPD is a condition in which the lungs are not able to perform adequately. This results in shortness of breath and decreased ability to tolerate activity or exertion.

A client is the individual receiving home care services from Outreach Health.

The Community First Choice option allows states to provide home and community-based attendant services and supports to eligible Medicaid enrollees under their State Plan. This state plan option was established under the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

The loss of intellectual functions (such as thinking, remembering, reasoning) of sufficient severity to interfere with a person’s daily functioning. Rather than a single disease or condition, dementia is actually a variety of symptoms that may accompany certain diseases or conditions, including memory loss and impaired cognition. Symptoms may also include changes in personality, mood, and behavior.

DADS administers long-term services for people who are aging, as well as for people with physical, intellectual, or developmental disabilities. The DADS mission is to administer a comprehensive array of aging and disability services, supports and opportunities that are easily accessed in local communities.

DDD empowers individuals with developmental disabilities to lead self-directed, healthy, and meaningful lives. DDD provides supports and services for eligible Arizonans.

Someone who qualifies for both Medicare and Medicaid.

DME is medical equipment that is ordered by a doctor for home use. These items are reusable, such as walkers, wheelchairs, and hospital beds.

A computerized record of a client’s clinical, demographic and administrative data. Also known as a computer-based patient record.

Elder abuse refers to the mistreatment and/or harm to an elderly person by someone in a position of trust, such as a family member, spouse, friend, neighbor, professional carer/medical healthcare provider, or family caregiver.

Elder care services are provided to the elderly at home, in residential or assisted living facilities, or in the community. These services may include health-related skilled nursing, rehabilitative therapies, and palliative care. Typically, elder care is provided over an extended period of time to people who need another person’s assistance with activities of daily living.

A benefit payment system in which an insurer reimburses the group member or pays the provider directly for each covered medical expense after the expense has been incurred.

Habilitation is the education, support, and assistance to enable clients with intellectual or developmental disabilities to acquire, maintain, and improve skills related to activities of daily living in order to function as meaningfully and independently as possible in the community. These services are provided by habilitation technicians, qualified developmental disabilities professionals (QDDPs), certified nursing aides, and home health aides.

The appointment of a healthcare agent to make decisions when the principal becomes unable to make or communicate decisions.

Being homebound refers to the state of when a person’s physical health prevents him or her from leaving the home for more than short periods of time.

HCBS is a Medicaid program that provides assistance with skills development, respite, transportation, and other services to help support the individual receiving care and their caregiver.

Compassionate care that empowers older adults and those with disabilities to live independently at home. It may involve helping the individual with activities of daily living, transportation, medication reminders, and companionship.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires that all covered entities provide a notice to clients detailing the ways in which the covered entity will use or disclose the client’s protected healthcare information (PHI). PHI is defined as individually identifiable health information that relates to the past, present, or future physical or mental health of, or the provision of healthcare to, a patient or resident.

A mental, physical, temporary, or permanent inability to manage one’s own affairs. Can also be defined as a legal disqualification “subject to incapacity.”

An inability to control urination and/or bowel movements.

An intellectual or developmental disability, also called IDD, includes many severe, chronic conditions that are due to mental and/or physical impairments. IDD can begin at any time, up to 22 years of age. It usually lasts throughout a person’s lifetime.

The granting of a license that gives Outreach offices permission to open, operate, and provide services.

Written document stating, in advance, an individual’s wishes concerning the use of life-saving devices and procedures in the event of terminal illness or injury, should the individual no longer be competent to make their wishes heard at such a stage.

LIDDA serves as the point of entry for publicly funded intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) programs, whether the program is provided by a public or private entity. They provide, or contract to provide, an array of services and supports for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and are responsible for enrolling eligible individuals into Medicaid programs.

The broad spectrum of medical and support services provided to persons who have lost some or all of their capacity to function without assistance, due to illness, aging, or injury.

LTSS encompasses the broad range of paid and unpaid medical and personal care assistance that people may need when they experience difficulty completing self-care tasks as a result of aging, chronic illness, or disability.

A partnership between an insurance provider and a health care system. Put in place to coordinate all care services received to maximize benefits and minimize costs. Managed care plans use their own network of health care providers and require approvals prior to receiving services.

A state government program that provides health care insurance and medical assistance to people—including families and children—who meet income eligibility requirements. Medicaid will cover a variety of in-home care services and supports, in addition to case management, so as to promote aging in place. Benefits may be available in one’s home, the home of a friend or relative, a foster care home, or even an assisted living residence, depending on the state and the program. Benefits may vary by state and program.

Services or supplies that are needed for the diagnosis or treatment of a medical condition and meet accepted standards of medical practice.

Medicare provides health care coverage for persons age 65 and older, persons who are defined for social security purposes as “disabled” for at least two years, and certain other special cases.

Outcomes are measures of the effectiveness of particular kinds of medical treatment. This refers to what is quantified to determine if a specific treatment or type of service works.

Outcome based care is a more proactive approach to healthcare—Outreach Health strives to maintain and improve one’s health in order to prevent illness, rather than just treating the illness.

Any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms, rather than striving to halt, delay, or reverse progression of the disease itself or to provide a cure. The goal is to prevent and relieve suffering and to improve quality of life for people facing serious, complex, and/or terminal illnesses.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder of the central nervous system that affects more than one million Americans. Individuals with PD lack a substance called dopamine, which is important in the central nervous system’s control of muscle activity. PD is often characterized by tremors, stiffness in limbs and joints, speech impediments, and difficulty in initiating physical movement. Late in the course of the disease some individuals develop dementia and, eventually, Alzheimer’s disease. Medications such as levodopa, which prevents degeneration of dopamine, are used to improve diminished motor symptoms in PD patients but do not correct the mental changes that it causes.

The person or entity responsible for paying for home care.

Pediatrics care includes nursing, therapeutic, and assistive home health care services for children under the age of 18. These services are provided by nurses and caregivers who are experts in caring for children—from newborns to adolescents—including those needing complex, high-tech care.

This refers to assistance with activities of daily living. These services may include assistance with bathing, bathroom assistance, dressing, meal preparation, and eating.

Written doctor’s orders for home health services and treatments based on the patient’s condition. The plan of care is developed by the doctor, the home health team, and the patient. The home health team keeps the doctor up-to-date on the patient’s condition and updates the plan of care as needed. It is the doctor, and not the home health team, that authorizes what services are needed and for how long.

A chronic health problem that is present prior to health coverage beginning.

Preventive services are health care aimed to prevent or detect illness at an early stage, when treatment is likely to work best. Examples of these services include cancer screening and flu vaccination, as well as certain diets to help prevent high cholesterol and diabetes.

Clients who pay for their own care or whose care is paid for by their family or another private third party, such as an insurance company. The term is used to distinguish from those whose care is paid for by government programs (Medicaid, Medicare, and Veterans Administration).

A provider is an individual, facility, or institution that provides care. This may include a hospital, home care agency, skilled nursing facility, or intensive care facility.

A legal document allowing one person to act in a legal manner on another’s behalf pursuant to financial, health, or real-estate transactions.

The readmission rate is the percentage of clients who are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge.

A referral is a written order from a person’s primary care doctor to see a specialist.

Respite care provides short-term relief for the primary caregivers, such as a professional caregiver relieving a family member for a week, or month.

Level of care that includes services that can only be performed safely and correctly by a licensed nurse—either a registered nurse (RN), or a licensed practical nurse (LPN or LVN).

The use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health, and health administration.

STAR+PLUS is a Texas Medicaid managed care program for people who have disabilities or are age 65 or older. People in STAR+PLUS get Medicaid healthcare and long-term services and support through a medical plan that they choose.

To move a resident from one place to another—from the bed to a wheelchair, or from assisted living to skilled care (such as a skilled nursing facility).

The Aid and Attendance benefit is a monetary benefit that helps eligible veterans and their surviving spouses (widows/widowers) to pay for the assistance they need in everyday functioning (eating, bathing, dressing, and medication management).

The Veterans Health Administration is America’s largest integrated health care system; providing care at 1,255 health care facilities, including 170 medical centers and 1,074 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics). VHA serves nine million enrolled Veterans each year.