Working for family directly, setting up meds

[84RN]

I recently had the family of a current patient ask me if I'd consider continuing to set up the patient's meds (organizing in daily dispenser) after the medicare cert period is over. None of the grown children live in this part of the country, and the elderly father needs some help in this area. The son asked if I'd do this and said they'd be willing to pay me privately.

My gut instinct is telling me to refuse, because of potential liability issues. Any thoughts?

This is a huge need in our area, with so many seniors around that live far from family, and I asked at work (HH Agency) if anyone knew of companies that did this, so I could pass along the information to the patient's family, and no one had any information.

[merlee]

Almost any home health agency will do this. It's called 'private pay' if it is not covered by any insurance.

DO NOT do this on your own.

If there will be service provided by Medicare then it should not be too difficult for the agency to arrange for private services if needed.

Best wishes!

[KateRN1]

Any non-skilled care agency should be able to do this. You can also refer them to Geriatric Care Managers in your area, check with caremanager.org for resources.

This is something that you can do in theory, but it takes more than just doing it. I have done this in the past and you would need to have a consent form, release of information so that you can communicate with the physician, and professional Liability Insurance that covers you as an independent contractor or self employed. You should also check with your board of nursing to make sure that this is allowable in your state.

[ruthalittle]

If you work in Illinois I can refer you to the company I currently work for. They are licensed for both Medicare & private duty nursing. It's officially 2 "sister" companies, I work for both. They employ both RN's & LPN's.

Personally, I wouldn't do it on my own.

[caliotter3]

Too much to worry about to do it on your own. Go with your gut.