Starting a Home Health Care Business: The Must Know Policies and Procedures

Starting a home health care business means taking into consideration all the home health care policies and insurances to protect you and the people you are servicing.

This is especially important for a home health business.

Starting a home health care business can include a lot of policies and procedures. This is why we have made it easier for you by compiling the absolute must-know steps and procedures in the home health care business.

1. Create a Business Plan

It is important to create a business plan for your new home health care business. Things to take into consideration when creating this plan might include: what types of services you want to include, what insurances you want to work alongside, what clientele you want to accept, any financial related plans, and how to obtain any licenses.

A business plan helps to make sure that everyone stays on track when starting this business and sticking to the policies that your state requires you to follow.

2. Register with your state

Every state has its own set of policies and regulations for healthcare providers to follow.

This is why, before following through on anything in your business plan, you must register with your state. After registering, you will be able to properly file all the policies to open your home health business.

Without registering for your state, you will not qualify for Medicare and Medicaid, and may not be able to hire the staff you want and need

3. Medicare and Medicaid

These two policies are important to make sure you follow and accept. For your new home health care business, you must be Medicare and Medicaid certified. Without this certification you will not be able to take on the clientele you want, get insurance, and be able to hire the proper staffers you need to succeed. Remember, that Medicare and Medicaid are not the same. Medicare is the general medical coverage provider for anyone over the age of 67. Medicaid is a program designated to those with lower income, and not easy access to medical resources. Both Medicare and Medicaid both offer coverage for home health care services. The difference is based on what plan someone had and what state you are in. ALWAYS make sure to confirm what the polices are for both in the state you are opening up your home health care business in.

4. Does your state require a civil rights clearance?

Civil rights clearance is based on the state you are in. This clearance is important for any health care provider to have. By having this policy, you are confirming that you will treat anyone who is eligible for a home health care service, no matter what their race, age, disability, or color may be. It is different in each state the process to get this clearance. You can find out more about this during the training we offer.

5. Get a home care agency license

This license is extremely important to get before starting your home health business.

Every state has different requirements on how to get this license, so make sure to do your research according to your state and follow the steps to obtaining it.

Working with us, we help provide you with this license so that you do not need to have the stress of doing it all yourself.

6. Hiring your staff

Once you have compiled the necessary policies and insurances, it is important to move on to hiring your staff. Your staff can make or break your home health business. When looking to hire staff, you must make sure that they have the proper accreditation, be insured, and go through training and follow home health procedures. There are two types of home health care workers you can hire: a home health aid, and a personal care aid. What is the difference? A home health aid is someone who goes through training and takes care of monitoring someone’s vitals and helping in basic home needs. A personal care aid is someone who is not licensed but go through a special training/ These personal care aids act more like companions for patients than nurses.

More staff to hire...

More staffers you should consider hiring for your home health business would be a skilled nursing provider, also known as an LPN. A skilled nursing provider brings a staffer who has a higher level of training and is licensed to give medicines and treatment, as well as guide family members through any home health care procedures and policies they need to follow. It is important to note that any home health business must have a licensed physician on staff to address all medical needs and to give instructions to employees.

7. More Accreditations

Further accreditations you should look into are getting accredited by the Joint Commission, Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP), and from the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC). These accreditations are issued by each state. And each state has its own system of getting the licenses from either association. All of these accreditations give the staff and the patients the knowledge to maintain proper practices and hold a higher standard for the level of care provided.

High Standards Equal Better Service

After following these procedures and getting the proper policies in order, your home health business will be able to provide its patients with the best service. High standards equal better service (and protection for you, your staff, and your patients.) To find out more about how the policies and procedures, or if you are interested in training with us as you start your home health business, be sure to follow us and to read more on our website. We offer manuals and personal assistance to everyone pursuing a home health business.

Starting a Home Health Business? The Must-Know Policies and Procedures