Ebola Screening – Home Care Patient Population (Home Health & Outpatient Services)
Download the PDF Here
The confirmation of Ebola cases in Dallas and New York has led virtually ALL healthcare providers to integrate Ebola screening questions into EVERY patient interaction, particularly clinicians at a point of first medical contact. For many of our patients, we are the first and sometimes the only point of contact with regard to healthcare services. In concert with your local hospital, EMS and first response partners we will also be including the two CDC screening questions into all home encounters.
Process:
As with any public health challenge, every practitioner becomes part of the team that minimizes and eventually controls further spread of disease. Beginning immediately and continuing until the risk no longer exists, all new admissions to home health and new Texas Outpatient Services patients in the Dallas-region will be assessed/interviewed utilizing the two questions referenced above.
Responses to these questions are to be documented in the narrative portion of the patient’s clinical record with appropriate interventions employed. For patients currently receiving home care services, these two questions will be asked and patients will be assessed on the next scheduled skilled visit (performed by a RN, PT, OT or SLP).
Similarly, for Texas Outpatient Services patients, these two questions will be asked and patients
assessed during telephone triage, at all unplanned care and next scheduled visits by the nurse or
provider (MD, DO, DPM, APN, PA). Observations and responses are to be documented in the narrative portion of the patient’s clinical record, engaging appropriate interventions. Clinicians should observe and assess for the symptoms described above on all subsequent visits and during ongoing care.
The Evolution Health Medical Command Center Clinician Hotline, 855.448.1742, is available to provide 24-hour support to all Envision Healthcare clinicians. The hotline is staffed by Evolution Health Nurse Navigators in the Medical Command Center in Dallas and is supported by Logis technology. The Nurse Navigators can provide immediate access to information on clinical and operational support for any potential Ebola patient.
Envision Healthcare continues to monitor all of our clinical sources for new information and guidance. We believe our caregivers are prepared to deliver appropriate care to patients with any infectious disease, including Ebola.
Please reinforce among our caregiver community that protection is simple: hand-washing before and after each patient contact and stringent blood and body fluid precautions.
Last updated 10.31.14