Definition
The term “home care” describes the circumstances and organizational conditions under which care and support of persons in need of care is possible in Germany in their own homes or in the homes of close relatives. Persons in need of care are those who, due to an illness (physical, psychological) or disability, are unable to perform all normal everyday tasks (personal hygiene, nutrition, transportation and housekeeping) without outside help. In most cases, home care is provided by relatives; support by nursing services is possible.
In order to assess the degree to which a patient is in need of care, the medical service of the health insurance company divided the affected persons into care levels until 2016. Since 2017 they have been referred to as care levels. Especially important for the classification is the duration of the necessary help in minutes. The nursing care insurance company covers the costs for a probable need for nursing care of more than 6 months.
The levels of care
Care level 1 applies to “persons in considerable need of care” who need help with basic care, nutrition or mobility at least once a day. Assistance in the household is also required. A minimum daily average of 90 minutes is set here, of which more than half must be spent on basic care.
Further information: The new care level 1 – what you need to considerIf a patient needs help with personal hygiene, nutrition or mobility at least three times a day, care level 2 is given, which covers people who require heavy care. The average minimum duration of care in care level 2 is two hours for basic care. Three hours a day are set for the total care time (including household), as these patients also need help with household chores.
Care level 3 is granted if these patients are patients in need of the most intensive care. Patients are dependent on external help at all times (including at night). Both the ability to take care of themselves, to eat and drink independently and to move around independently are limited.
Patients with care level 3 also need help in the household. On average, a minimum of 5 hours of care is assumed in this care level, of which at least 4 hours are allotted to basic care (personal hygiene, eating, storage in the care bed, etc.) Care level 0 (“in need of care”) includes people who are slightly restricted in the everyday tasks of life. They are able to do many things on their own, but need help or instruction in personal hygiene (washing, brushing teeth, showering, etc.) or in running the household (e.g. shopping, cooking, cleaning).
