Skipping to Covid-19

No Elective Surgeries and Skilled Nursing Facility population displacement has major implications for Home health agencies as these agencies will be managing a much high risk and high acuity patients. 

We are not sure what the post Covid-19 world will look like, but one thing is for sure! This is the time for home care agencies to shine!  Home care agencies that can deliver high-quality, cost-effective care will play a central role in managing Covid-19 and high-acuity non-Covid-19 patients in home environment. 

This new role will require home care agencies to shift its practices and be able to manage higher acuity population in home environment.  In order to accomplish this effectively, here are a few things to consider for home care leadership

Clinical & Operations Management

• Educate and train clinicians in managing high-risk population at home
• Build a risk based clinical case management strategy where your agency identifies the patient’s risk at time of referral and reassess the risk at set intervals
• Partner with hospitals and physicians and build protocols and dashboard tracking key Performing Indicators that you can keep the referral entity up to date on
  • Train clinicians in these protocols and retrain at regular intervals! You get only one chance; be sure your agency is prepared! 
• Build working relationships with community-based services that can partner with you and help manage high-acuity-high-risk patient population.
  • Now more than ever, physicians are using Telehealth & Telemedicine, I expect this trend to continue!
  • Home Pharmacy Services can play a critical role in helping home care agencies with initial assessment and medication management and reconciliation.  
  • If your agency does not provide services such as Palliative or Hospice Care, reach out to them!
    • Home care agencies can build a bridge program with palliative care agency to help strengthen agency’s skill sets. 
• Capacity Management
  • Have a clear definition of what a high-risk patient looks like for your agency! Train your clinicians in managing different risk levels.
  • Understand your agency’s capacity to manage this high-risk patient population.
    • How many clinicians onboard have the skill set to manage high-medium risk patients? Be very honest!  Like I say, you only get one chance!  Make it count! 
  • The clinicians managing high-risk patients should be allowed extra time, and should manage fewer patients through out the day.  

Educate and train clinicians making home visits by signing up for 2020 – 2021 Infection Prevention & Control Series (including COVID – 19)   To learn more click here:  https://www.hqcpro.com/premier-1601199684