10 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Home Care Provider

As your loved ones age, there may come a time when they need assistance with basic tasks such as grooming, bathing, meal preparation and surgical aftercare. While it can be daunting to choose a home care provider that you trust to enter your loved one’s home, there are plenty of skilled and honest providers out there, but there are also many that aren’t up to par. Here are ten questions to ask when interviewing agencies to ensure that you get the best care available.

1. Does the agency require a minimum purchase of hours per day?

2. Will the agency allow you and your loved one to interview multiple caregivers until you find the right fit?

3. Does the agency provide transportation for errands, appointments and shopping?

4. Does the agency have policies and procedures to guarantee your personal health information (PHI) is protected and private?

5. Does the agency perform background checks and drug tests on all employees?

6. Does the agency maintain the appropriate insurance policies including, but not limited to: Workers’ Compensation, General Liability and Professional Liability?

7. Does the agency perform on-site visits to introduce the caregiver at the beginning of care and periodic onsite visits to ensure that the quality of care is maintained?

8. Do they have a skilled home care professional on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to answer questions? Do they have emergency procedures in place?

9. Does the agency guarantee a visit by a skilled home care professional within 2 hours of receiving a referral?

10. Does the agency offer any specialized programs that cater to the needs of you or your loved ones?

Being an educated patient and consumer can help decrease fraud and increase the overall quality of care your loved one receives. Asking these ten key questions is a great first step in finding the right fit for your family.

About Mission:

Mission is a clinically owned and operated organization whose services include Mission Home Health, Mission Hospice, and Mission Home Care.  By providing these three service lines, Mission Healthcare strives to have a positive impact on the lives of patients, their families, and their healthcare partners no matter what their needs may be. Mission utilizes all available resources to provide the highest level of care possible to their patients, all while in the optimal healing environment, the home.