The Plan of Care (POC) is like the bible of home health care. It provides the roadmap by which home health agencies render care services to patients. The POC is often also referred to as the individualized Plan of Care. This is due to the fact that patients have different conditions, needs, goals, abilities, and routines. Thus, the Plan of Care must be established in such a way that it specifically caters to the needs of the concerned patient. However, even though POCs are individualized, they still have the same requirements. This would be especially important for home health agencies (HHAs) like yours to know to aid you in establishing and developing your patients’ POCs. To guide you on this, we listed down the three (3) home health Plan of Care must-dos for every HHA.
The POC should indicate the types of care services as well as the supplies and equipment required to meet the patient’s needs as determined during the comprehensive assessment. This includes treatments, medications, nutritional requirements, and safety measures to protect against injuries, among others. An important note to keep in mind is that the services must always be carried out in accordance with accepted standards of practice.
It is vital that the POC is created by a physician who firstly, should be a Doctor of Medicine, osteopathy, or podiatric medicine. Secondly, the physician must have no financial relationship with your home health agency to avoid the occurrence of fraudulent activities. In addition to the types of services, the POC must also reflect the professionals who will provide the service to the patient, whether that be a physician, nurse, or caregiver.
In addition to the first two must-dos, the POC should also reflect the frequency, duration, and purpose of patient visits. To ensure that the most appropriate level of services is provided to patients under home health care, orders can include a specific range in the visit frequency wherein the upper limit is considered to be the specific frequency.
Data Soft Logic, as the software that is always on your side, wants to empower you to provide quality care to your patients through a smooth and seamless Plan of Care documentation. With our newest feature in Home Health Centre Ultra, the Patient Care Plan, you can now easily document and update your POCs using readily available templates, references, and documents. To see how this feature can help you and your agency, schedule a demo with us now.
References:
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. FACT SHEET: TIPS for HOME HEALTH SERVICES. , Dec. 2020. — -. HOME HEALTH CARE REQUIREMENTS for a PLAN of CARE If the Plan of Care Includes a Course of Treatment for Therapy Services.
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