How Bad Is The Charting???

wonderbee, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2007

I do. I just started HH. Only have less than 3 weeks in. I've been doing an admission every other day. They are the worst. The visit notes we fill out are short. They take no time at all. The OASIS is 24 pages. It's not difficult. Just time consuming. The related opening paperwork is probably another 15 pages. It takes me 1.5 hours for the admission visit and another 3.5 for the charting. Ideally I can do two return visits and one open and that would be a nice day. Tomorrow I have four return visits, two of them have stat blood draws and there is one admission. It will be a very long day.

bgogal · Aug 30, 2007

Home health is highly regulated. Charting can be the pits if the agency doesn't have it streamlined. SOC/ ROC oasis does take longer but after doing it for a while just like anything it'll be a breeze. As far as taking work home, that depends on your working style. Be organized and try to finish your charting before you conclude your visit or at least before you drive off to your next one would be really helpful. If you put off finishing ur charts until the end of the day or worse til the next day... it can get overwhelming. Good luck.

TazziRN, RN · Aug 30, 2007

I can do an open in an hour if it's uncomplicated, and the paperwork will take me about another hour.

wonderbee, BSN, RN · Sep 11, 2007

I can do an open in an hour if it's uncomplicated, and the paperwork will take me about another hour.

How do you get the paperwork done in an hour???

caliotter3 · Nov 26, 2007

I only do shift care, not start of care or recerts, so the only paperwork I'm responsible for is a shift document and any MD orders or communication notes that come from the happenings on the shift. I fill out the med/tx sheets and vent sheets at the home. Typically, my shift documentation is completed by the end of my shift and I leave the field chart copy in the home. Rarely do I take anything home to do unless I get extremely busy and can't finish or extremely tired with too many extras and can't finish. Paperwork gets easier the more of it that you do. Many say that using laptops streamlines their paperwork. I will have to wait to experience that as none of my agencies have converted to laptop use yet.

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Nov 26, 2007

Home health is highly regulated. Charting can be the pits if the agency doesn't have it streamlined. SOC/ ROC oasis does take longer but after doing it for a while just like anything it'll be a breeze. As far as taking work home, that depends on your working style. Be organized and try to finish your charting before you conclude your visit or at least before you drive off to your next one would be really helpful. If you put off finishing ur charts until the end of the day or worse til the next day... it can get overwhelming. Good luck.

:yeahthat: What she said.

I can do an open in an hour if it's uncomplicated, and the paperwork will take me about another hour.

Yep. Ditto.

I remember when I first started doing admissions, I thought I'd NEVER get through the paperwork that went with it. I'd sit at the kitchen table half the night. Now I breeze right through it. It really does get quicker after you've done them for awhile!

Some of you may have more paperwork if you do case management. A LOT more, I believe.

We don't do case management, so while we do the OASIS for SOC/ROC and Follow-Ups (recerts), and some related forms that go with the SOC, it's still a lot less than if you are responsible for EVERYTHING when doing case management. :trout:

pedinurse05 · Dec 14, 2007

-Yesterday I went on HHC interview and I was offerred the job..My only concern is the charting--How bad is it? They are using PDA system..Do you always bring home paperwork in Home health care? Thanks for your help...denise

The charting is a lot! I tried HH for 2 months and said this is not for me! I am back doing 12 hour hospital shifts. I think it really depends on the agency and you. The patient interaction in HH is what is so nice about HH....but the paperwork was tooo much for me! The oasis is several pages long and the other forms at an open are many.

ragtopnurse · Dec 15, 2007

Home health is highly regulated. Charting can be the pits if the agency doesn't have it streamlined. SOC/ ROC oasis does take longer but after doing it for a while just like anything it'll be a breeze. As far as taking work home, that depends on your working style. Be organized and try to finish your charting before you conclude your visit or at least before you drive off to your next one would be really helpful. If you put off finishing ur charts until the end of the day or worse til the next day... it can get overwhelming. Good luck.

I agree totally.

piscesrn · Jan 5, 2008

It's awful. If you want a job that is going to take over your life work as an RN/casemanager in homecare. The day NEVER ends--the patient visits are the easy part it's all of the charting...emails, phone calls, ordering supplies, voice mails...that take so much time!!!! Then when you are done the UR person reviews it...any you have to go back and make corrections. I'm looking to get out of it but at the same time don't want to work in the hospital either. Also, if you are a people person don't do it...doesn't seem to make much sense but think about it. All day you interact with mostly medicare patient's (over 65) and then go home and have all of that other "stuff" to do. There is no peer interaction, which at first seemed GREAT!!! whoo, hoo! lol but very lonely. Ha, Ha....don't do it!!!!!!!!

GYPSY1349 · Jan 5, 2008

-Yesterday I went on HHC interview and I was offerred the job..My only concern is the charting--How bad is it? They are using PDA system..Do you always bring home paperwork in Home health care? Thanks for your help...denise

Well...I'm an experienced HH nurse, working as a Case Manager...I've read the other replies, and here's my two cent's worth!

Yes, the paperwork can be daunting...but like anything else, the more you do it, the easier it gets and the less time it takes. I personally do not like the PDA system, much prefering the Laptops, when they are available, as the programs are more comprehensive, and allow me to include a better assessment.

That being said, some visits I can get my documentation done while I'm assessing the patient and talking about their care...I just write as I go. Other visits are more complicated, so I fill in the vital signs, make short notes to myself on things I want to remember on a legal pad, and go on to another visit. I do have some paperwork to do at home almost daily, but hey...I'd much rather be doing my paperwork at home, in my PJ's, with music or the TV on as background noise, than sitting in an office, or worse yet, at a nurse's station in a hospital!

Admissions, Recerts and Resumptions of care, of course take longer, due to the Oasis forms...Again, a great part of it can be completed during your assessment in the home, once you get the hang of talking, listening, and writing at the same time...It takes a while to get the hang of this, but it is definitely doable with experience. At the end of the day, I always have the actual written part of the assessment to complete, along with the other various forms, such as the plan of treatment, calendar, etc...but again, I'd rather do this in the comfort of my own home, than sitting in a car, or taking up the patient's time, having them watch me complete my paperwork.

I worked in hospital settings for many years before changing to home health, and I wouldn't go back to a hospital for any amount of money. There is NOTHING that compares, for me, to having the time to spend with my patients one to one, really teaching them, and motivating them to a full recovery. Yesterday, I receved a card from a patient I recently discharged, thanking me for taking the time to teach him what he needed after open heart surgery...That is PRICELESS, as the saying goes..and if you are a good and caring nurse, make their recovery your own, it is a validation you will often receive, and it will make you want to improve on a daily basis.

Good luck to you!

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Jan 6, 2008

Well...I'm an experienced HH nurse, working as a Case Manager...I've read the other replies, and here's my two cent's worth!
Yes, the paperwork can be daunting...but like anything else, the more you do it, the easier it gets and the less time it takes. I personally do not like the PDA system, much prefering the Laptops, when they are available, as the programs are more comprehensive, and allow me to include a better assessment.
That being said, some visits I can get my documentation done while I'm assessing the patient and talking about their care...I just write as I go. Other visits are more complicated, so I fill in the vital signs, make short notes to myself on things I want to remember on a legal pad, and go on to another visit. I do have some paperwork to do at home almost daily, but hey...I'd much rather be doing my paperwork at home, in my PJ's, with music or the TV on as background noise, than sitting in an office, or worse yet, at a nurse's station in a hospital!
Admissions, Recerts and Resumptions of care, of course take longer, due to the Oasis forms...Again, a great part of it can be completed during your assessment in the home, once you get the hang of talking, listening, and writing at the same time...It takes a while to get the hang of this, but it is definitely doable with experience. At the end of the day, I always have the actual written part of the assessment to complete, along with the other various forms, such as the plan of treatment, calendar, etc...but again, I'd rather do this in the comfort of my own home, than sitting in a car, or taking up the patient's time, having them watch me complete my paperwork.
I worked in hospital settings for many years before changing to home health, and I wouldn't go back to a hospital for any amount of money. There is NOTHING that compares, for me, to having the time to spend with my patients one to one, really teaching them, and motivating them to a full recovery. Yesterday, I receved a card from a patient I recently discharged, thanking me for taking the time to teach him what he needed after open heart surgery...That is PRICELESS, as the saying goes..and if you are a good and caring nurse, make their recovery your own, it is a validation you will often receive, and it will make you want to improve on a daily basis.
Good luck to you!

Lovely post.. my sentiments as well. Thank You !!! :)