How to Streamline Your Home Health Agency Business

Despite the state of the US economy, the home healthcare industry remains one of the strongest businesses today. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, home healthcare jobs will grow 5.5 times faster than all other non-farm industries until at least 2020. The aging population of the US, coupled with the rising incidence of chronic conditions among those at retirement age, has and continues to create great demand for home healthcare.

There is also growing concern over the inflated and unnecessary costs being incurred by elderly chronically ill patients in the traditional hospital setting. The Affordable Care Act aims to address this by pushing for a fee-for-performance model instead of the existing fee-for-service model. This, in turn, will shift the focus of healthcare providers to keeping patients healthy and minimizing the need for hospitalization.

However, it’s not to say that starting and running a home healthcare agency will be a walk in the park. Licensing requirements can be very demanding and cost report preparation is infamously complicated, especially with regards to Medicare. Staffing can be a challenge, especially for those just starting out in the industry. High setup costs, cost-effectiveness, and ROI are also common issues with home healthcare agencies. So how can you streamline your home health agency business in your quest for success?

The Basics

As with any business, you should put in the effort to come up with a well-researched business plan, including an in-depth description of your operational policies. This is particularly important for a home healthcare business, which is why many jurisdictions require a formal business plan (among other things) to get a license in the first place.

Finding both quality staff and potential clients is a hurdle for many. Working with a local college with a nursing and nursing aide program can be helpful, as these institutions are able to assess their graduates’ performance over several years, which is all but impossible for walk-in applicants. They also have an interest in finding employment for their graduates, and will usually welcome a partnership with home healthcare agencies. Similarly, networking and partnering with other types of healthcare providers, such as hospitals and rehabilitation centers, can lead to a significant number of referrals for discharged patients and other potential clients.

 
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Home Health Software and Technology

Home health software such as those provided by McKesson or Axxess can significantly streamline your agency’s documentation and paperwork, while also ensuring compliance with industry requirements and updates. They can also speed up billing requests and other processes involved in the clinical, financial, administrative, scheduling, and human resources aspects of your business. All in all, they help to make your day to day operations run smoother and reduce the time and money spent on the more repetitive tasks.

There is also a growing push for the use of remote patient monitoring (RPM) technologies such as glucose meters and blood pressure monitors, which patients can use themselves and upload the results for via computer or even mobile phone. This reduces the need for on-site visits by medical practitioners while also enabling a more real-time monitoring of a patient’s health. And it doesn’t end there – in 2013 alone, over $100 million was invested in new RPM technologies ranging from telemedicine robots to toilet sensors.

Cost Report Preparation

This is probably the single biggest headache in running a home healthcare agency business. As senior citizens are the primary clients of home healthcare, you will need to handle Medicare cost reports. These are extremely complicated forms that can cause tons of trouble if filled out improperly. In fact, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates that over 200 hours of research, preparation, and data analysis is required on average for Medicare cost reports. Getting an experienced Medicare cost report preparation accountant will go a long way in addressing this bottleneck in your operations.

Hazzouri Accounting has years of experience working in the home health agency field with industry-specific knowledge on highly detailed aspects of Medicare and Medicaid. We will prepare or review your filings to ensure that you receive the full amount you are due. Contact us at 734-844-1614 or visit us our cost report preparation services page for your home health agency cost report preparation in 2014. You can also ask a question on our Facebook fan page, Twitter feed, or Google+ listing!