Policy Manual sample

MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. HOW TO ORDER HOME HEALTH SERVICES REFERRAL PROCEDURES To be eligible for care, patients must be referred by their private physicians, be essentially homebound, require skilled care (for Medicare patients), and be recovering from an acute illness or injury. All services provided must meet requirements of AHCA, Medicaid, Medicare, CMS, Accreditation, Insurances guidelines. To initiate care for our patient, all that the referral sources need to do is call us and a professional staff will receive their order and follow up with the completion of necessary forms which will be sent to the patient’s physician for their signature. Orders must Be Returned Signed to Us as Soon as Possible but at Least Within Thirty Days and Become a Permanent Part of the Patient's Record. REMEMBER... Our Nurse Supervisor is available to all referral sources for consultation. He/She may accept their orders at the time of consultation. Please contact our Administrator if you have any questions during office hours (9:00 am to 5:00 pm). Our on-call Nurse Supervisor, has always available: Types of care/service available: Nursing and Therapy Services Care/service limitations if any, will be available for discussion with the referral source Charges or patient responsibility for care/service, will be discussed with the referral source according the pay source or insurance of the patient. Eligibility criteria, following all Medicare, State, Federal and accreditation guidelines Hours of operation, including on call availability, will be discussed with the referral sources, currently 9 am to 5 pm, and 24 hours referrals trough our On-call services Contact information and referral procedures, always available to all referrals sources REFERRAL PROCEDURE: 1) The Patient’s Physician send the Home Care Order, and face to Face requirement, by prescription or signing our Admission Order to our Agency by fax or phone. Required Information: Face to Face documentation, Patient’s Demographic Information, Source of Referral, Payment Sources/Insurance Information, Physician Information, Diagnosis/Clinical Information, Services requested/frequency, specific orders. 2) Referrals containing verbal orders are given to the designated professional (intake nurse) for verification and documentation of verbal orders. The Order must be as completed as possible. 3) Our intake nurse (only authorized staff to receive referrals) will verify/complete the Referral Form (see Agency’s Form book) 4) Our intake nurse will coordinate the Patient’s Care/Treatment (including all discipline ordered), and order an Initial Assessment within 48 hours after the referral order 5) The service and treatment will continue according Physician’s prescription. Prohibited referrals to home health agencies: A physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 must comply with s. 456.053: A hospital or an ambulatory surgical center that has a financial interest in a home health agency is prohibited from requiring any physician on its staff to refer a patient to the home health agency. Home Health Agency Bylaws H-7