So, What’s In Your Manual?

A Policy and Procedure manual is a key component of operating a home health agency. Every business should have a policy and procedure manual. This is so true for agencies in the home health and home care agency. No matter if you are a skilled agency or personal care agency having a Policy & Procedure Manual is a requirement. A home health/care manual should have policies that clearly state how to manage staff and patient care safely. The manual allows agencies to operate smoothly at all times, preventing lawsuits against the agency or worker’s comp claims that pay out astronomical amounts of money.

A policy and procedure manual is a helpful tool to allow for the pathway to successful patient care. Policies and procedures are needed to provide consistency in the day-to-day operational activities of your agency. Policies and procedures also provide clarity to staff when dealing with accountability issues or activities that are of critical importance to the agency, such as employee health and safety, legal liabilities for staff and patients, regulatory requirements, and other issues that have serious penalties.

How can Home Health Administrators, Managers, Directors of Clinical Services, or Owners, operate their agencies with confidence if they don’t know what regulations, or policies are in place to establish systems to operate and grow an agency? Company policies and procedures are in place to protect the rights of employees as well as the business interests of their employer. How can you expect staff to act in a certain manner if you don’t know what that is? How can you manage employee conduct or actions, attendance, dress code, privacy, and other areas related to the terms and conditions of their employment?

How do you know if your QMP is being met, or that safe patient care is given when the policy on patient care is so neatly wrapped up in cellophane because you never opened it? I am bothered by people who get into the home health and home care industry just for the “money”. They are clueless about how to properly operate an agency. They’ll get 3 years of Medicare/Medicaid, VA, and private pay before someone comes to hopefully shut their doors because the Owner, Executive Director, or Manager, are not operating with appropriate standards and behavior.

If you haven’t updated your manuals, give us a call so we can help you purchase

To Your Success!

Sharron