It is important to focus performance measurement activities on areas of high volume or high risk. These areas will vary among agencies. That's why the first step must be to identify your agency's scope of service. Services are provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All services are provided in patients' homes and are managed through a central office located on the hospital grounds.
Medical care is prescribed by physicians who are credentialed members of the hospital medical staff.
The professional staff include registered and licensed nurses, speech therapists, registered dietitians, medical social workers and home health aides. Key customer groups include patients, patients' families, attending physicians, payer groups, social services agencies, mental health clinics, pharmacies, and other home care service groups. Once the home health agency's scope of service is defined, the next step is to identify the important aspects of care which will be routinely evaluated. Aspects of care will generally be oriented toward clinical conditions, clinical functions, processes, and specific interventions. Shown below are examples of important aspects of home care.