For Physicians...

We welcome your referrals and the opportunity to serve
you and your patients.  We want your experience with us,
and that of your patients, to be a positive one.  At the North
Penn VNA, we emphasize excellence in care and services
and strive to be the premier home and community based
health care provider in the areas we serve.

As a physician, your role in a patient's homecare experience
is very important.

• Your decision to refer patients to home care services
  shows them that you care and want them to have
  continued quality medical care even after they leave
  your office or the hospital. 
• Homecare is an extension of your care.  We follow
  your orders for the patient's care and, with your guidance and approval, recommend and follow through on changes that are made to the plan of care. 
• Your involvement throughout the home care experience
  provides a continuity of care for the patient from your
  office, to the hospital and back home.

To Make a Referral

Via Phone
Call 215-855-8296, ext. 120 and speak with our intake coordinator. She will ask for detailed information regarding patient contact information, physician contact information, insurance information, diagnosis and homecare disciplines the physician is ordering - skilled nursing, rehabilitation therapy (PT, ST, OT), hospice.

Via Fax
Fax your referral to the attention of our intake coordinator at 215-855-1305.  Once the fax is received, our intake coordinator will call you back that day to verify the information and schedule your patient for a visit.  Don't forget to include your name and phone number so we can call you back.  In order to facilitate a quick response to your faxed referral, please place a call to 215-855-8296, ext. 120 to let us know that a referral is coming.

Who Should be Referred to Home Care?
Criteria for admission to home care are:

• The patient is homebound.
• The patient is in need of health care that requires skilled nursing, physical, speech or occupational therapy on an intermittent basis.
• The attending physician must sign the initial plan of care.

Examples of patients who would benefit from homecare are:
(these examples are not all-inclusive)

• Those recovering from surgery
• Disabled or chronically ill persons needing medical treatment and assistance with the activities of daily living
• Patients recovering from a stroke, heart attack, heart surgery, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, lung disease, diseases of the nervous system and terminal illness
• Patients who have undergone hip or knee replacement surgery, those receiving IV therapy, and those with a colostomy or catheter

Definition of Homebound
Medicare, and most insurance companies, define homebound as follows:

Normally unable to leave home. Leaving home takes considerable and taxing effort. A person may leave home for medical treatment or short, infrequent absences for non-medical reasons, such as a trip to the barber or to attend religious services. A need for adult day care does not keep a patient from getting home health care for other medical conditions.

This definition was taken directly from the Medicare website glossary.

Hospice Facts
Hospice care may be appropriate for any patient with an end-stage illness such as cancer, pulmonary disease, Alzheimer's, and other non-malignant conditions.  Certification of a 6-month prognosis by the physician is required.  When the patient's physician makes the referral, the physician and our hospice team develop a care plan, which includes specific desires of the patient and family.  There is no penalty if a patient outlives their 6-month prognosis.  Hospice care may be recertified for 60-day periods.  Patients who stabilize may also come on and off hospice care as per their physician's assessment.

Click here to see what diagnoses may be appropriate for hospice care.

To refer a patient to the North Penn VNA Hospice Program, please call our Hospice Nurse Manager at 215-855-8297, ext. 130.

Pre-Hospice Evaluation
Adjusting to life's changes can be a challenge for patients and families.  The North Penn VNA is pleased to offer a pre-hospice evaluation to assist you, your patients and their loved ones with the transition to palliative care.

Hospice staff are available to meet with, evaluate and educate patients who you believe are appropriate for hospice services.  our staff can meet your patients and their families in the comfort of their home, in the hospital, skilled nursing facilities or your own office suite.  There is no fee for this service.

If, during the evaluation, your patient chooses hospice care and you approve of this decision, admission to North Penn VNA hospice service can begin.

For more information, or to arrange for a pre-hospice evaluation, please contact our Hospice Nurse Manager at
215-855-8297, ext. 130.