Group Forums >> Home Health Nursing >> DISCHARGE SNAFU
DISCHARGE SNAFU
102 posts back to top |
Posted over 4 years ago Just to vent. Two days ago the agency I work for had a referral for a pt coming home on IVABX. Discharge was pending. Referral also made to IV supplier. This afternoon the discharging nurse called to give report.......... THE PATIENT HAD ALREADY LEFT THE BUILDING. I asked if her IV supplies were delivered to the hospital or were they going to the home. Her answer I don't know. I told her we had followed up with the IV company yesterday and they said they had called a quote back to the social worker and had had no response. While on the phone with the discharging nurse, I had a coworker call the IV company and guess what............ THE PT HAD NO COVERAGE FOR IVABX AT HOME. After several frustrating hours and multiple phone calls arrangements were made for the pt to get the antibiotics at a local hospital as an outpatient. So the patient's needs were met, and the hospital nurse probably learned to call the Home Health agency and the IV supplier before the pt leaves the building............. Has this ever happened to you?
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1306 posts back to top |
| Posted over 4 years ago Yes, sure has..........but I've been gone from Home Health for about 4 yrs. I remember one night when I was on call for after hours <we rotated after hours> I had to do an admission for IV Vanco in what we call a '911 area', which meant that normally we did not go to this neighborhood after 5pm. Despite the agency rules, I was told that I had to go regardless and that another nurse would be accompanying me. The vanco was due at 12:00am, I left home at 9pm to pick up my 'so called' partner for this dangerous neighborhood, when I drove 45 min out of my way to pick her up, she refused to go, so I headed down to Atlanta for this infusion. This person lives in the projects close to 6 Flags in Atlanta. I got there at 11:30pm, when I got there the IV company called and said it would not be there until 2am. I left the patients home by 3:45am...........drove home 1 3/4 hrs away, had 2 hrs sleep and had to be back in Atlanta by 9am for another infusion for a different patient. The reason the vanco was not delivered before 2am was the hospital did not call the order in until close to midnight.........and he was dc'd from the hosp. at 6pm.....................this time lapse was unacceptable, the infusion was 3 hrs late causing me to do an incident report and getting screamed at by the doc for calling him while he was sleeping <agency policy required that dreaded phone call, I dont care if I piss off sleeping docs.........they wont remember my name, they dont know where I live and dont know what kind of car I drive and dont know what I look like>. Failure of communication. Oh, the nurse that refused to go was put on suspension w/o pay for a week, I think. Honestly, there are alot of home health horror stories...............but then there are extremely cool and funny stories coming out of home health. Now that I do cardiac rehab, one of our heart surgeons always makes me come over and tell him about the chicken laying an egg in the front seat of my car! Good luck to you......................I do miss home health, but my husband bribed me to leave itl. We only have one heart, take care of it! Angie |
