Quick Overview

  • Dual service model: Combines personal hygiene assistance with medical procedures authorized by physicians.
  • Multiple service providers: Options include home care agencies, SSIAD programs, medical centers, and independent practitioners.
  • Key advantages: Enables aging in place, ensures safe hospital discharge, and reduces readmission rates.
  • Prescription required: Your physician or hospital specialist determines the care plan and visit frequency.
  • Reimbursement: SSIAD services are 100% covered; private services receive 60% reimbursement (with possible supplemental insurance coverage).

Home nursing care includes all medical services delivered at your residence, authorized by prescription, designed to prevent or minimize hospitalization. These services encompass daily hygiene support, wound management, medication administration, and health monitoring. Multiple organizations including home healthcare agencies, medical facilities, independent practitioners, and hospital-based programs coordinate these services up to 7 times per week. This approach supports independence, maintains familiar surroundings, and reduces caregiver burden.

01. Understanding home nursing care services

Home nursing care consists of two main service types:

  • Personal hygiene and comfort services: bathing assistance and wellness activities for individuals experiencing functional decline, delivered by nursing staff or under nursing supervision.
  • Medical nursing interventions: wound care, medication injections, catheter placement and maintenance, intravenous therapy, and vital sign tracking. These services, prescribed by physicians, are exclusively performed by licensed nursing professionals.

These services, available through medical authorization for 7 days weekly, are provided by home healthcare organizations or nursing care programs (SSIAD), medical facilities, or private practitioners. For situations demanding extensive or specialized care, home hospitalization services (HAD) provide round-the-clock support, particularly for advanced wound management or end-of-life care, available 24/7.

02. Service providers for home nursing care

Home nursing care delivery involves multiple provider types:

  • Home healthcare agencies or SSIAD programs: These organizations arrange daily support and implement prescribed treatments (wound care, injections) 7 days weekly. Services are prescribed for individuals 60 years and older, those with disabilities, or people managing chronic conditions.
  • Medical care centers: Center-employed nurses conduct home visits (or facility-based appointments) for nursing interventions and personal care services, always by prescription, also 7 days per week.
  • Independent nursing professionals: Solo practitioners or group practice nurses perform home consultations to deliver required care, available by prescription any day of the week.

Important Information

Home hospitalization services operate continuously! They deliver comprehensive or palliative treatment in your home, providing ongoing medical and nursing support.

03. Advantages of home nursing care

Primary benefits of home-based care include:

  • Maintaining independence: Consistent monitoring by qualified nurses and caregivers preserves functional capacity.
  • Reducing hospital admissions: Home-based health monitoring identifies early warning signs and prevents extended hospital stays.
  • Supporting safe hospital discharge: Care teams provide continuity of prescribed treatment, ensure smooth transitions, and minimize rehospitalization risk.
  • Postponing institutional placement (assisted living or nursing facilities): By addressing hygiene needs and medical requirements, it extends time in familiar home settings.

04. Types of home nursing care available

Available care categories include:

  • Medical procedures and health monitoring: Services include physician-ordered interventions such as wound care, injections, catheter management, IV therapy, and vital sign assessment. Licensed nurses perform these services with continuous health monitoring.
  • Hygiene and bathing support: When mobility is limited, teams provide full or partial bathing, grooming, and additional comfort services to maintain dignity and prevent skin issues. This care, often delivered with nursing assistant support under nurse supervision, directly enhances daily comfort.

These service components can be scheduled for brief, moderate, or extended durations, based on individual needs, continuing through weekends and holidays as circumstances require.

05. Eligibility for home nursing care

Only a physician determines eligibility for home nursing care. This evaluation considers your medical condition, your functional independence level, and the practicality of home-based care delivery. This assessment may include:

  • Your general practitioner: Having continuous knowledge of your health history, they monitor disease progression and can adjust care needs during regular consultations.
  • A hospital physician: During hospitalization or upon discharge, they evaluate the ongoing care requirements to facilitate safe home return.

Following clinical assessment and medical record review, the physician creates a care authorization specifying the service type, visit frequency, and duration of care. This prescription enables appropriate services (private nurse, home care agency, nursing care service, or hospital program) to organize care and secure health insurance reimbursement.

06. Pricing for home nursing care

Home nursing care expenses depend on the service organization providing care.

SSIAD Services

For Home Nursing Care Programs (SSIAD) or home-based support services, costs are completely covered by health insurance: you pay no initial fees and no out-of-pocket expenses remain your obligation.

Independent Nursing Professionals

When contracting with independent nurses, charges follow three standardized daily rates based on dependency level: €13 (minimal assistance, code BSA), €18.20 (moderate care, BSB), or €28.70 (intensive care, BSC). These fees are reimbursed by national health insurance (Assurance Maladie) at 60%; the outstanding 40% (patient responsibility), along with the €1 medical deductible per visit, may be covered through your additional health insurance when this coverage is included. You can arrange direct payment (tiers payant) to eliminate upfront costs.

Individuals with chronic medical conditions may receive complete reimbursement for private services according to regulatory guidelines.

Cost-saving tip: Minimize upfront expenses. Request direct billing from your private nurse and confirm your additional insurance covers patient cost-sharing and medical deductibles.

This content is provided for educational purposes exclusively and should not substitute for professional medical consultation. Self-diagnosis and self-treatment are strongly discouraged.