Complete Story
02/01/2022
You Asked... We Answered 2/1/22
You Asked:
When there is a larger hospice patient, for safety reasons we need to send 2 hospice aides to the home at the same time to assist the patient with bathing or getting the patient out of bed. How should those visit frequencies be listed on the plan of care? Should visit frequency be listed as 1 visit 3 times a week (in other words, 3 visits a week) or 2 visits 3 times a week (in other words, 6 visits a week)?
We Answered:
LeadingAge Ohio reached out to the Ohio Department of Health as to how to document a visit frequency if 2 hospice aides are needed in the home of a patient at the same time. ODH’s response was as follows:
The documentation can say 1 visit 3 times a week and requires 2 hospice aides each visit. This should also be documented in the medical record and in the patient’s care plan.
LeadingAge Ohio also reached out to Palmetto to see how many visits should be documented on the claim when 2 aides are needed for each visit and their response was: You would want to account for all 6 encounters, so you should have 6 visits listed on your claim.
As for the documentation of the visits, both aides should document their visits so the visits flow to the claim.