Best Practices Toolkit for Home Health Agencies

These new standardized instructions to improve patients' understanding of when to take medications, reduce errors and improve adherence are available in six languages.

This website has a link to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' frequently asked questions about the 30-day risk standardized readmission measures.

Home health agencies can use this process of care investigation tool to help document potential improvements in patient care and overall facility operations.

This guide from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality was developed to help acute care facilities expand their current Medicaid readmission prevention work.

This guide from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Partnership for Patients program offers resources, tools and suggestions for implementing a readmission reduction program in your facility.

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement has developed trigger tools for health care professionals to use to help identify adverse events that could cause harm to patients.

Now available with two new drug groups: COPD medications and antipsychotics. Clinicians in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, pharmacies and physician offices will find this tool useful for teaching their Medicare and elderly patients about their medications. Included in the tool are a cover reminder card, and eleven medication cards, including: Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) -inhibitors, Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBs), beta blockers, antiarrhythmic agents, aldosterone blockers, diuretics, nitrates (vasodilators), potassium, blood thinners (anticoagulants), antidiabetic agents, opioid medications, COPD medications and antipsychotics. Each medication card includes: 1) How the class of drug works, 2) What problems to report to the clinician, and 3) The brand or generic drug names by class.

The Medications at Transitions and Clinical Handoffs (MATCH) toolkit was developed to help facilities improve their medication reconciliation process. This toolkit provides a step-by-step guide to help health care providers ensure patients are properly educated about the medications they have been prescribed to help avoid medication errors and patient harm.

Internists/primary care physicians and nurses: Provide this document to your patients, which includes more information to help them ascertain when to call your office for help or when to go to the emergency room for a range of conditions, including shortness of breath, heart failure, complications with diabetes and more. Patients: Use this document to help determine when to call your physician for help or when to go to the emergency department for assistance.

Physicians and nurses at hospitals can use this document to help ensure patients being discharged from the hospital are appropriately led through the discharge process. Hospital staff can also use this survey to help document their own internal patient discharge processes to ensure all of the proper steps were followed.

This workbook is designed to help patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease better manage their condition. Patients can take this workbook with them to their doctor's appointments and use it to help guide a conversation with their physician(s) to learn how to better manage their condition and over health.

This workbook is designed to help patients with diabetes better manage their condition. Patients can take this workbook with them to their doctor's appointments and use it to help guide a conversation with their physician(s) to learn how to better manage their condition and over health.

This workbook is designed to help patients with heart failure better manage their condition. Patients can take this workbook with them to their doctor's appointments and use it to help guide a conversation with their physician(s) to learn how to better manage their condition and over health.

Download this handout, created by the TMF Quality Innovation Network, which provides a quick-and-easy reference of readmissions measures for the hospital, skilled nursing facility and home health settings.

Now available with two new drug groups: COPD medications and antipsychotics. Clinicians in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, pharmacies and physician offices will find this tool useful for teaching their Medicare and elderly patients about their medications. Included in the tool are a cover reminder card, and eleven medication cards, including: Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) -inhibitors, Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBs), beta blockers, antiarrhythmic agents, aldosterone blockers, diuretics, nitrates (vasodilators), potassium, blood thinners (anticoagulants), antidiabetic agents and opioid medications. Each medication card includes: 1) How the class of drug works, 2) What problems to report to the clinician, and 3) The brand or generic drug names by class.

Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) can use this booklet to work with their health care provider to help identify a care plan.

Patients with diabetes can use this booklet to work with their health care provider to help identify a care plan.

Patients with heart failure can use this booklet to work with their health care provider to help identify a care plan.

Clinicians in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, pharmacies and physician offices will find this tool useful for teaching their Medicare and elderly patients about their medications. Included in the tool are a cover reminder card, and eleven medication cards, including: Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) -inhibitors, Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBs), beta blockers, antiarrhythmic agents, aldosterone blockers, diuretics, nitrates (vasodilators), potassium, blood thinners (anticoagulants), antidiabetic agents and opioid medications. Each medication card includes: 1) How the class of drug works, 2) What problems to report to the clinician, and 3) The brand or generic drug names by class.

Internists/primary care physicians and nurses: Provide this document to your patients, which includes more information to help them ascertain when to call your office for help or when to go to the emergency room for a range of conditions, including shortness of breath, heart failure, complications with diabetes and more. Patients: Use this document to help determine when to call your physician for help or when to go to the emergency department for assistance.

Physicians and nurses at hospitals can use this document to help ensure patients being discharged from the hospital are appropriately led through the discharge process. Hospital staff can also use this survey to help document their own internal patient discharge processes to ensure all of the proper steps were followed.

This workbook is designed to help patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease better manage their condition. Patients can take this workbook with them to their doctor's appointments and use it to help guide a conversation with their physician(s) to learn how to better manage their condition and over health.

This workbook is designed to help patients with diabetes better manage their condition. Patients can take this workbook with them to their doctor's appointments and use it to help guide a conversation with their physician(s) to learn how to better manage their condition and over health.

This workbook is designed to help patients with heart failure better manage their condition. Patients can take this workbook with them to their doctor's appointments and use it to help guide a conversation with their physician(s) to learn how to better manage their condition and over health.