Finding your patients...

by KelRN215, BSN, RN
  1,467 Views   5 Comments

  1. This is by far my biggest challenge in home health. Not actually finding where they live (I have a GPS) but tracking them down. I'd say the 3 most common recordings I get when calling a patient are:
    1. This number is no longer accepting calls
    2. This voicemail box is full
    3. The person you are calling has a voicemail box that has not been set up.

    I have gotten all of these messages in the last day trying to track down patients.

    Maybe it's because I work inner-city but in the 8 months I've been at this job, I'd say I have some patients who have changed phone numbers at least once/month without informing the agency. I usually find that out when I call and a random person answers and says "Oh I borrowed my sister's boyfriend's cousin's baby mama's phone".

    Do others of you have this problem?
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  2. 5 Comments

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  3. by suanniam4
    Nov 27, '12
    Very frustrating! Whats worse is when you go to the home as scheduled, and there not there!
    Wish I could be of some help, but its one of the negatives of working HH.
    Sue
  4. by lovingtheunloved
    Nov 27, '12
    I work in a small town, and hear all of the above on a routine basis. I usually just show up, and they may or may not actually be home. If it's a particularly bad area or they're notoriously crazy, I won't go unless I actually talk to them. Just the nature of the business I think.
  5. by IowafemaleRN
    Jan 6, '13
    I'm new to home health. The most frustrating thing so far has been scheduling pt's. I'm PRN so I'll sign up for three pt's and one will say they were just seen by their doctor and the dressing change was done so they do not need a visit at this time or pt's have told me they feel they don't need to be seen anymore and can be discharged. This is such a waste of time since I feel like I need to read about the pt before calling them incase they ask questions about what will be done.
  6. by suanniam4
    Jan 6, '13
    Most of my pts want to be seen between 11am-2pm. Lots of
    unpaid wasted time scheduling.
  7. by grneyes8
    Jan 6, '13
    I'm an opener now so most of my cases are confirmed before they get to my schedule, which is nice. But before I became an opener this was my biggest pet peeve. Find a company where you are salary and it will be much better pay-wise.

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