Psych. Home Health Assessment/Admission Form

[adaptation]

Hi!

I'm an psych Home Health RN and I positively hate the initial Nursing Assessment Form we use for all first time visits.

First of all, it is on 2 pieces of long paper, vs. the rest of the chart which is normal sized. Lots of repetitive information. Doesn't "flow" well. Takes TOO long, more than the hour or so we are allotted.

I am the only psych RN in the agency (don't ask), so my manager said I can do anything I want with the form to make it more user friendly.

I'd like to hear about your admission paperwork, and if you would be kind enough to share your form with me, I would really appreciate it.

I am very familiar with inpatient forms, so I'd really prefer those which are used on an outpatient/HH basis! I find that the documentation standards in home health are much more lax than in the hospital. (Here in Canada)

Thank you!

[OIFsoldier]

Okay,

I should start by saying that when you are in the middle of no where [in this case Iraq], everything is reinventing the wheel.

Whatever has been planned will miss something!

So what we had was a list of symptoms, time in weeks, amount pt feels like it is affecting them, as well as fill in the blank stuff like affect, feeling statment, describe of VH or AH, and then a comments section.

So you get some on that tells you that they just cannot shake the depressed mood, "depressed" in feeling statment, X# of weeks, affect congruent, sleep increase or decrease, eating + or -, guilt + or -, SI+ [comment area for plan], HI+ [plan?]....and so on.

After you get in the swing of where everything on the sheet is at, you got it down to a 10 min interview.

Of coorifice if you have a MDD c psycotic features: SI/HI+ with plan, it will still take a bit of time! lol.

Good luck

Spc Barry

[renerian, BSN, RN]

briggs makes a nice admission form but it is not cheap. many companies use theirs.

renerian