s, and the elderly was in the home (Murphy, 1982). Thus, the home health care concept in the contemporary environment is not so much an innovation, as it is a revival of an old idea.
In the contemporary environment, home health care is oriented toward those individuals requiring long term care (LTC), where the condition of the patient does not require constant access to either sophisticated hospital facilities, or health care professionals (Risser, 1989).
The delivery of health care services in the home is a complex process. There are four major areas of activity infusion therapy, personnel services, the provision and operation of durable medical equipment in the home, and self care (Edmondson, 1985). In addition to these four major areas of activity, the vital function of medical record keeping must be performed in the home care environment, just as it is performed in the institutional environment (Murphy, 1982).
Both the establishment and the monitoring of home health care must be coordinated by a primary health care team (Weinberg, 1988). A primary care physician typically heads such a team, whether or not it is a formally constituted team (Weinberg, 1988). Many other types of health care professionals and workers, however, will usually be involved in the delivery of health care services in the home (Weinberg, 1988).
There are several significant implications associated with the delivery of health care services through a team approach. Among the more important of these implications are the following: 1. Each member of the primary health care team has a special contribution to make. Professional animosity does not promote effective home health care.
2. Each member of the primary health care team may, under certain circumstances, deliver health care services to patients independently of any of the other members of the team. In all instances, however, such treatment s...