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A basic guide to home care

Unlike inpatient care in a nursing home or hospital, outpatient care is provided at home. The caregiver provides medical or basic care services such as assistance with personal care (washing, showering, brushing teeth, cutting nails), eating and drinking, getting up, lying down or using the toilet. Only care services prescribed by a doctor are covered by health insurance.

Care by relatives

If relatives are willing to provide assistance but don’t have the relevant professional skills, a specialist can instruct them on how to perform basic care and medical tasks. This could include administering medicine, eye drops, ointments or injections and measuring blood pressure for example.

Care by professionals

More complex medical care must be performed by a professional. This includes tasks such as intravenous drug administration, inserting and managing a catheter, looking after a stoma, special nutritional feeding and complex wound care.

In the field of professional care, there are three different types of outpatient care providers (source: Federal Statistical Office, 2024 (not available in English):

  • Public Spitex public organizations with over 43,000 employees

  • Private Spitex organizations with over 18,000 employees

  • Almost 1,700 self-employed nurses

The range of services offered by each Spitex organization varies. You can find which one is right for you in our Spitex comparison.

Professional care at home

What do I need to know about Spitex?

08.08.2019

Day-to-day help and support

Acute and transitional care

Needs assessment, advice and coordination

Specialist care

Basic care