A home health survey can feel high-stakes because it is. The best way to cut the stress is to be ready before the surveyor shows up. That means knowing what they’ll ask for, having it in one place, and making sure your daily practice matches your policies.
Before the survey
Go through the Conditions of Participation and your policies side by side. For each CoP section, confirm you have a policy and that staff know it. Pull a few recent charts and make sure they support what your policies say,orders present, face-to-face documented, assessments and care plans in order. Fix any gaps you find. Keep a “survey file” or folder with your license, key policies, org chart, and a list of where things live so you can answer quickly.
During the survey
Designate one or two people to work with the surveyor. Answer questions honestly; if you don’t know, say you’ll get the answer. Don’t volunteer extra charts or areas they didn’t ask about. If they cite a deficiency, write down exactly what they said and what they looked at. You’ll need that for the plan of correction.
After the survey
Submit your plan of correction by the deadline. Be specific: what you’ll do, who’s responsible, and by when. Then do it. If you disagree with a citation, follow your state’s process for disputing it,but don’t let the deadline for the plan of correction slip while you sort that out.
We have a survey prep checklist you can download. It covers before, during, and after so you’re not guessing what to do next.