Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0720-30-.11 - RECORDS AND REPORTS

(1) The home care organization providing home medical equipment shall report all incidents of abuse, neglect, and misappropriation to the Department of Health in accordance with T.C.A. § 68-11-211.

(2) The home care organization providing home medical equipment shall report the following incidents to the Department of Health in accordance with T.C.A. § 68-11-211.

(a) Strike by staff at the facility;

(b) External disasters impacting the facility;

(c) Disruption of any service vital to the continued safe operation of the home care organization providing home medical equipment or to the health and safety of its patients and personnel; and

(d) Fires at the home care organization providing home medical equipment that disrupt the provision of patient care services or cause harm to the patients or staff, or that are reported by the facility to any entity, including but not limited to a fire department charged with preventing fires.

(3) Patient records shall be maintained for each patient who receives in-home services. The patient record must contain detailed, accurate documentation that reflects all of the services or care provided, directly or by contract. The patient record shall contain at a minimum the following:

(a) Except for mail order companies, documentation of in-home patient education and instruction.

(b) Physician orders as required:

1. A home care organization providing home medical equipment is authorized to receive and appropriately act on a written order for a plan of care for a patient concerning a home health service signed by a physician that is transmitted to the agency by electronically signed electronic mail. Such order that is transmitted by electronic mail shall be deemed to meet any requirement for written documentation imposed by this regulation.

(c) Documentation that patient has been fully informed of patient rights and responsibilities and at a minimum, the right to:

1. Be fully informed in advance about care and treatment to be provided by the agency;

2. Be fully informed in advance of any changes in the care or treatment to be provided by the agency when those changes may affect the patient's well-being;

3. Voice grievances without fear of discrimination or reprisal;

4. Confidentiality of personal information;

5. Have one's property treated with respect; and

6. Be fully informed of the agency's telephone number for information, questions, and/or complaints about services provided by the agency and a description of the process for investigating and resolving complaints. The agency shall investigate and resolve all patient complaints and document the results in a timely manner. The agency shall label all equipment with the name, address, and telephone number of the agency.

(4) Patient Confidentiality. The agency shall have written policies dealing with patient information. Patient records shall contain signed release of information statements/forms when the agency bills a third-party payor or shares information with others outside the agency. Patient confidentiality polices will address, at a minimum, the following:

(a) A definition of confidential information;

(b) Persons/positions authorized to release confidential information;

(c) Conditions which warrant release of confidential information;

(d) Persons to whom confidential information may be released;

(e) Policies and procedures for obtaining signatures on, using, and filing release of information forms;

(f) Who has authority to review patient records; and

(g) A statement that training in confidentiality is mandatory for all employees, so that personnel are knowledgeable about and consistently follow confidentiality polices and procedures.

(5) Survey Material. The agency shall have written policies dealing with survey material. Survey material shall be immediately available upon request of a Commission surveyor to the electronic mail address on record with the Commission. Survey material is any material stored in electronic or physical format that may be necessary to conduct a survey. Survey material shall include, but is not limited to the following:

(a) Personnel files;

(b) Patient medical records;

(c) Policies and procedures;

(d) Data;

(e) Background checks;

(f) Abuse registry checks;

(g) Facility reported incidents;

(h) Litigation and bankruptcy history;

(i) Current licensure status;

(j) Copies of investigations;

(k) Discipline records in any other state in which the provider is licensed;

(l) Video records or files, if available.

Notes

Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0720-30-.11

Original rule filed August 24, 2000; effective November 7, 2000. Amendment filed April 11, 2003; effective June 25, 2003. Amendment filed September 1, 2004; effective November 15, 2004. Amendment filed February 23, 2007; effective May 9, 2007. Amendments filed January 3, 2012; effective April 2, 2012. Amendments filed January 7, 2019; to have become effective April 7, 2019. However, the Government Operations Committee filed a 60-day stay of the effective date of the rules; new effective date June 6, 2019. Transferred from chapter 1200-08-29 pursuant to Public Chapter 1119 of 2022 effective July 1, 2022. Emergency rules filed June 26, 2023; effective through December 23, 2023. Emergency rules expired effective December 24, 2023, and the rules reverted to their previous statuses. Amendments filed March 4, 2024; effective 6/2/2024.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-5-202, 4-5-204, 68-11-202, 68-11-209, 68-11-211, 68-11-226, and 68-11-260.