Policy Manual sample

MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. POLICY ON SERVICES UNDER ARRANGEMENT/BUSINESS ASSOCIATES POLICY: In the event that we provide services under arrangement with another agency/individual, such an arrangement shall be subject to a written contract conforming with the requirements specified. Such a contract shall be drawn up at the time the arrangement is being made. Services provided by contract shall be through a written agreement between our Agency and the company supplying staff, or the individual (contractor), which must include: services to be provided, designation that our agency is responsible for monitoring of services provided, designation of full responsibility of our agency over all contracted services, supervisory, quality assurance, charges for contracted services and designation of full responsibility for patient billing by our agency, responsibility of our agency to retain and maintain all clinical records of patients served by the contracted staff, evidence of liability and insurance coverage, period of contract, procedures for submitting clinical and clinical notes, and date and signatures of appropriate parties. Services under arrangement. (1) Our HHA will ensure that all services furnished under arrangement provided by other entities or individuals meet the requirements of section 1861(w) of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x (w)). (discharges the patient the liability to pay for the services) (2) We will have a written agreement with another agency, with an organization, or with an individual when that entity or individual furnishes services under arrangement to the HHA’s patients. Our Agency will maintain overall responsibility for the services provided under arrangement, as well as the manner in which they are furnished. The agency, organization, or individual providing services under arrangement may not have been: (i) Denied Medicare or Medicaid enrollment; (ii) Been excluded or terminated from any federal health care program or Medicaid; (iii) Had its Medicare or Medicaid billing privileges revoked; or (iv) Been debarred from participating in any government program. (3) Our agency is responsible for patient care, and must conduct and provide, either directly or under arrangements, all services rendered to patients. The HIPAA Privacy Rule allows us to disclose protected health information to these “business associates” if we obtain satisfactory assurances that the business associate will use the information only for the purposes for which it was engaged by the covered entity, will safeguard the information from misuse, and will help the covered entity comply with some of the covered entity’s duties under the Privacy Rule. We may disclose protected health information only to an entity in our role as a business associate only to help us carry out its health care functions – not for the business associate’s independent use or purposes, except as needed for the proper management and administration of the business associate. General Provision. We will obtain satisfactory assurances from our business associate that the business associate will appropriately safeguard the protected health information it receives or creates on behalf of the covered entity. The satisfactory assurances must be in writing, whether in the form of a contract or other agreement between us and the business associate. Home Health Agency Agreements G-3