Learn about the challenges that home healthcare aides face when it comes to drug administration.
In the United States, the home healthcare industry has seen tremendous growth in the past decade. Naturally, this rapid growth is accompanied by many serious challenges. For instance, as more patients seek home healthcare services, medication management has become increasingly complicated. Here are some of the challenges that home healthcare aides face when it comes to drug administration.
- Coordination and Communication
Home healthcare aides must sync up with many other medical professionals in order to provide the best care for their patients. However, with so many players in the arena, coordination and communication can be a challenge. When coordination is fragmented, this can lead to medication mismanagement and dangerous health complications for patients. Coordination and communication can be affected by the lack of trust between caregiver and patient, insufficient access to patient records, and lack of communication between caregivers and other medical providers.
- Insufficient Access to Patient Records
As previously mentioned, the lack of access to patient records is one of the main obstacles that home healthcare aides face. While most healthcare facilities use electronic health records, the fragmented nature of healthcare means that records may not be compatible across all systems. This makes it difficult for some home healthcare workers to get a complete record of their patients. In these cases, home healthcare aides may have to rely on less-reliable sources such as the patient’s family or the patient themselves. Obviously, incomplete knowledge will negatively affect a home healthcare aide’s ability to administer medication correctly.
These are some of the major challenges that home healthcare aides face when it comes to drug administration. Because of all the risk that home healthcare providers assume, it’s vital that these companies are protected by the right insurance. For assistance with all your home healthcare insurance needs, contact the experts at PMC Insurance Group for assistance today.
