Questions to Consider When Choosing a Home Health Agency
Last Updated: 8/5/2003
Questions about the agency:
Does the agency serve my community?
Is the agency bonded? Is the agency licensed?
Who owns the agency? How long has the agency been in business?
Can the agency provide with written information about its services, the cost of its services, its billing procedures and insurance eligibility requirements?
Can the agency provide me with written information about the rights and responsibilities of the providers, patients and caregivers?
Is the agency approved (certified) to provide services to Medicare patients?
Is the agency inspected by any outside organization? What were the results of the last inspection? Were there any citations or recommendations for improvement? Have there been any formal complaints about the agency?
Does the agency conduct a costumer satisfaction survey? May I see the results of the last survey?
How are complaints handled by the agency? Who should I contact if I have a complaint or questions? What can I expect in terms of a response from the agency?
Is there a 24-hour on-call number for emergencies? How does the agency respond to emergencies? How long could I expect for a response to an emergency call?
Does the agency provide any follow-up services after the termination of home health services? Will the agency help me find other community services or medical equipment that might be needed?
Can the agency provide references that are familiar with their services?
Questions about care delivery and home health staff:
Is there a written plan of care for each patient? Does the agency involve the patient and caregivers in designing this plan and educate them about the care provided?
How soon would someone come to my house? Who could I expect to see come to my house (nurse, therapist, aide)? How often could I expect to see those individuals? How many total visits might I expect and over what period of time? How long will each visit last? Is the visit the same time or is the time of the visit flexible?
Will I get the same staff sent to my home or will it be a different person each time? What is the back-up system? What if regular staff can’t come?
Does the agency contract out for any services – occupational therapy, physical therapy? How is staff supervised? Does the agency perform criminal background checks on those it hires? Can I ask for a change in staff if I don’t like the staff person involved in providing my care?
What kind of training and education does the agency require for staff? What is the typical profile of staff employed by your agency? Does your have staff that speak other languages (if that is important)?
What kind of caseload does the staff at your agency carry? What kind of turnover rate does the agency experience? What is the agency’s vacancy rate for staff?
