Write a Policies & Procedures Manual for Home Care

Whether you’re a new home care agency or looking to revisit your operational procedures in the new year, let’s talk about what should and shouldn’t be included.

And how you should go about getting these procedures created and updated on a regular basis. 

We’ll go over:

• What is a policies and procedures manual?
• Why do you need a policies and procedures manual?
• Where to start
• What are policies?
• What are procedures?
• The importance of putting these into action.
• What to do with the manuals once you’re “done.”

What is a policies and procedures manual?

A Policies and Procedures Manual includes the guiding principles and actions on how you expect your company to run. It is a necessary, living document that your staff must follow for both ethical and legal reasons. 

Why do you need a policies and procedures manual? 

Becoming a new home care business owner is an exciting and rewarding venture, however, there may be some temptation to cut corners to start your business quickly—and soon. 

Let’s make sure that it’s not your policies and procedures manual. Why? 

This binder or folder contains information that secures your business over time. They provide guidance on:

• How to provide client care in a way that adheres to best practices, reduces the odds of errors or incidents, and increases safety. 
• How to set a standard for quality client care that meets client, family member, and healthcare professionals’ needs. 
• How to maintain legal, client, and other compliance requirements. Some examples could mean state or local licensure requirements or training requirements to meet specific client needs, like dementia care, for example. 
• How to maintain risk and mitigate conflict. This could outline what to do when a client falls and your pandemic preparedness plans as well. 
• How to continuously improve business operations and care quality. Your goal as a business owner should be to seek ways to make care better, make operations more efficient, and make caregivers’ lives easier. Each of these aspects is better served when you have a method in place to assess caregiver and client satisfaction, make judgments on priorities, and decide on the appropriate method to implement each priority. 

Where to start

As opposed to writing your own guidelines, we recommend working with experienced, industry business attorneys who have state-specific nuances covered in manuals they can share with you. We partner with Polsinelli, an experienced law firm with experience in home care and home health. 

Policies and procedure manuals can also be customized to any specific needs you have. Most consultants will share updated copies of manuals that adhere to new regulations as they come out. 

What are policies?

Policies are the guiding principles your staff should exemplify when caring for a patient as well as expectations for the staff that handle administrative and other tasks within your office.

Take a look into your company’s ethical code to help you write this part. Another great resource is the Policy Guide of other home care or home health businesses. A simple Google search will show you many examples, agencies typically post these documents on their websites.

What are procedures? 

Procedures are the exact steps you want your staff to take when interacting with a patient. Think of this as the “how to” section. For example, how to administer CPR or how to bill patients. 

In a home care agency, this section will focus on how to properly care for clients through everyday tasks. An example could be, how to assist in the bathroom. Again, you should take a look at procedures documented by other agencies to help you get an idea of what to include in your manual.

Reinforce the importance of putting these principles into action.

Putting your policies and procedures together should be the easy part. The more difficult aspect of business is holding your team and caregivers accountable for upholding each policy and procedure. 

According to Polsinelli, home care agencies are commonly targeted for a number of violations. This typically includes missed or interrupted meal periods, paying mileage but not travel time, failure to regulate pre-shift and post-shift work, not monitoring or paying remote work, inconsistent hours with other records, rounding time entries, manipulating pay rates, and improper time edits. 

What’s more, the importance of having language in your policies and procedures around proper and improper documentation reinforces the quality of each caregiver’s output. Ensure that they understand what’s at stake, what the consequences are, and how this may impact your business (and of course, them). 

Don’t just set it and forget it. 

Compliance is never a one-and-done activity. It’s a habit and a business lifestyle. 

You should update your manual regularly (at least annually) to reflect new legal and ethical considerations, while ensuring that your practices are as efficient as possible. Keep your agency management system in mind too, this may help you cut down on some procedures too. 

If you’re using the right system, you won’t need a “how to bill,” “how to document visits,” or “how to take a shift,” policy if you are using a system like CareTime. CareTime is a web-based home care software company for home care organizations. We help you manage schedules, take back control of time, track caregivers, cut expenses, and generate more revenue.   

Want to learn more? Schedule your demo here.