Guide

Finding a home care service.

In short: a home care service provides care at home. Before searching, clarify which help is needed, where and at what times. Then ask each service specifically whether it actually has capacity at the desired start.

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What a home care service provides

Care under SGB XI: personal care such as washing and dressing, care-related support and help with the household. With care level 2 to 5, the long-term care insurance fund can cover such care in kind (Section 36 SGB XI).

Home nursing care under SGB V: medical treatment care prescribed by a doctor, such as giving medication, injections or changing dressings (Section 37 SGB V). Your doctor usually issues the prescription; as part of discharge management the hospital can also prescribe for up to seven days.

Clarify with your long-term care insurance fund or health insurance fund which services the funds cover and to what extent.

Checklist: what to clarify beforehand

Which help is needed: personal care, medication, household?
How often and at what times of day?
From when?
Where: town and postcode
Care level or status of the application
Is there a prescription from a doctor?
Who is the contact person?

Questions for the home care service

Is our town in your service area?
Can you start on the desired date, and at the times we need?
Do you provide all the services needed or some of them?
Do you bill the long-term care and health insurance funds directly?
Which costs remain with us?
Who can be reached with questions, also at weekends?

Many services have a fixed service area and full rounds. A directory entry says nothing about whether capacity is free right now. So ask specifically about the start and the times.

How to proceed

1. Write down the need

Note which help is needed when. This makes every conversation easier.

2. Find services in the region

Ask your long-term care insurance fund, a care support centre or your GP practice about services near you.

3. Contact several services

Ask all of them the same questions. This lets you compare the answers.

4. Contract and start

Read the care contract calmly and agree on the first visit.

Requesting care via Pflege Patienten

One option among several: on Pflege Patienten you describe the care need once. Registered home care services whose service area covers your town are informed and express interest – for the whole care or individual services. The platform cannot promise a confirmation.

What this guide does not cover

This guide gives a general overview. It does not replace personal advice from your long-term care insurance fund, your health insurance fund or your doctor.

You check yourself whether a care contract suits you; consumer advice centres can also help with questions about contracts.

Sources

Section 36 SGB XI – care in kind (German)

Section 37 SGB V – home nursing care (German)

Status

Pflege Patienten editorial team · Published 11 Oct 2026.

Editorial status: 11 October 2026. The linked sources were checked automatically. No independent professional or legal review of this article has taken place so far.

Further information: Federal Ministry of Health (German) · Consumer advice centres – Verbraucherzentrale (German)

We deliberately do not state benefit amounts because they change. Your long-term care insurance fund or health insurance fund can tell you the current amounts.

Looking for a home care service

How private individuals and relatives post a care need on Pflege Patienten is explained on the page “Find care”.

How the search works for private individuals

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