Choosing a Home Health Agency

Home health care is an alternative to conventional, expensive hospitalization when only routine health care is needed. The patient can receive the needed care at home. Following are some suggestions for choosing an agency for you or your family member:

• Discuss the choice with the physician in charge. Physicians frequently have agencies they work with regularly and have confidence in
• Interview staff from several agencies before making a final decision
• Ask what licenses and credentials they hold
• Does it have any special accreditations (e.g., Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Organizations&emdash;JCAHO)?
• Ask about their range of services: Acute care, such as skilled nursing care, wound care, intravenous and antibiotic therapy, Custodial care such as cooking, grooming, bathing, dressing, housekeeping and transportation
• Ask about availability of adjunct services by providers such as physical, occupational, speech therapists, nutritionists, social workers. Laboratory, dental and counseling services may also be available.
• Are all services available to your particular geographic location?
• Is a nurse on-call 24/7 to answer questions or provide emergency services?
• Ask what staff will be assigned and precisely what their duties are
• Can the agency meet special needs
• Are staff from the agency paid by the hour or by the visit
• Find out what your recourse is if the provider doesn't come or fails complete the tasks

Visits

• Frequency determined by physician based on needs of patient
• Three tasks to be performed at every visit:

  &emdash; Head to toe assessment of patient's condition
  &emdash; Treatment administered per physician orders
  &emdash; Assessment of the patient's current mental state should be performed

Agency Staff

• Skilled nursing
• Home health aide&emdash;assess condition of patient, perform blood pressure checks and assist patient with hygiene
• Primary care aides&emdash;render custodial care

Who pays?

• Get a breakdown on exactly what source will pay for what services and what part must be paid by the patient
• Will the agency do the billing to third party payers?

At all times, monitor the level respect shown by agency staff toward the patient and family. Expect to be involved in decision making processes.

Summary of article, "Health Care & Health Plans: How to choose a home health agency" in "How-To Guide for Small Business," A Supplement to the San Antonio Business Journal, pg 26

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