Home Health Care
Check Care Plans and Coordination
Plans of care are supposed to specifically address individual patient’s needs. Find out whether nurses and therapists are required to evaluate the patient’s individual needs — and how they do it. Be sure they consult with the patient’s doctor and family, who may be able to make important observations or suggestions that would make the plan of care work better for the individual involved.
Also be sure that the course of treatment is documented, with a written plan stating the specific tasks to be carried out by each caregiver. And ensure that the patient and family members get a copy of this plan and that a representative of the agency explains the treatment to be given.
In coordinating care, the agency should exchange information about the patient’s progress, along with perceived needs for a change in treatment, with doctors and all other people important to the patient’s care.