WAC 246-335-540 — Home health plan of care (In-Home Services Agencies — Home Health)

What this rule requires your agency to do

• 1Ensure the plan of care is signed/authenticated and dated by appropriate personnel and the authorizing practitioner per those time frames (subsec. (4)(b)).(WAC 246-335-540 — Home health plan of care (In-Home Services Agencies — Home Health))
• 2For home-health-aide-only patients, a modified plan of care with reduced content and no practitioner signature is permitted; for one-time visits, provide the specified alternative documentation in lieu of subsection (3) (subsecs. (5), (6)).(WAC 246-335-540 — Home health plan of care (In-Home Services Agencies — Home Health))
• 3Review and update the plan of care by appropriate personnel on schedule: every two months (acute care), every six months (maintenance), every twelve months (equipment-assessment-only or home-health-aide-only) (subsec. (4)(a)).(WAC 246-335-540 — Home health plan of care (In-Home Services Agencies — Home Health))
• 4Include in the plan of care the enumerated content: diagnoses/health status, individualized goals and outcome measures, service types/frequency, palliative care, telehealth use, equipment, treatment and medication orders with name/dose/route/frequency, allergies, limitations, discharge/referral plan, education needs, advance directive/POLST and resuscitation status, and level of medication assistance (subsec. (3)).(WAC 246-335-540 — Home health plan of care (In-Home Services Agencies — Home Health))
• 5Ensure the signed/authenticated plan of care is returned to the agency within sixty days of the initial date of service or date of review/update (subsec. (4)(c)).(WAC 246-335-540 — Home health plan of care (In-Home Services Agencies — Home Health))
• 6Inform the authorizing practitioner of condition changes needing updates, obtain practitioner approval for additions/modifications, and immediately document verbal orders and obtain authentication with return within sixty days (subsec. (4)(d)-(f)).(WAC 246-335-540 — Home health plan of care (In-Home Services Agencies — Home Health))
• 7Develop and implement a written home health plan of care for each patient with input from the patient/family/legal representative and authorizing practitioner (subsec. (1)).(WAC 246-335-540 — Home health plan of care (In-Home Services Agencies — Home Health))
• 8Ensure each plan of care is developed by appropriately trained or credentialed agency personnel and is based on a patient assessment (subsec. (2)).(WAC 246-335-540 — Home health plan of care (In-Home Services Agencies — Home Health))