One of the fundamental components of hospice care is pain management. By keeping the patient comfortable while they are experiencing pain, it stays true to its mission of providing the highest quality of life to terminally ill patients. As such, one of the most critical evaluations in hospice are pain…

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…

An electronic medical record (EMR) system is the backbone of a healthcare provider’s care provision, especially in home health care. Through an EMR, your team can have a complete picture of your patients’ health status which allows for sound decision-making and faster care delivery, among many other things. Thus, it…

In 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rolled out the Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) as one of the Conditions of Participation (CoP) for hospices. The action was done with the intention of proactively improving patient and family care performance within the hospice care sector. CMS requires…

Accreditation provides home health and hospice agencies the opportunity to exhibit their ability to comply with regulations and standards. It reflects how dedicated and committed an agency is to providing quality healthcare as it sets a benchmark by which its operations will be measured against. It is also a way…

Hospices together with other healthcare providers have transitioned to a digital system of collecting and storing patient data, commonly referred to as an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) or Electronic Health Record (EHR). However, as these systems usually contain huge amounts of sensitive and confidential patient health information, this leaves hospices…

Hospice care is centered on the improvement of the patient’s quality of life through symptom management and social support. To do so, complete and accurate hospice documentation must be in place especially for patient visits. …

Wound care is an integral part of healthcare, especially for home health care. It encompasses the assessment, treatment, and monitoring of wounds. Proper wound care administered by licensed professionals results in infection prevention and the fast recovery of the patient. As such, you must ensure that you strictly observe appropriate…

Patients’ eligibility to Medicare benefits is crucial to both home health and hospice agencies. Caring for eligible patients with complete and accurate documentation ultimately translates to full Medicare reimbursements. Thus, establishing patient eligibility prior admission must be done correctly. …