In-home health assessments (IHAs) are becoming increasingly popular because they provide a comprehensive view of a health plan member’s health within the comfort of their home. To be effective, in-home health assessments must be conducted by skilled healthcare professionals utilizing standardized assessment tools, with a member-centered approach that delivers data-driven insights. This helps ensure each assessment is thorough and accurate, leading to meaningful, personalized care recommendations.

Focusing on these IHA best practices helps health plans better assess risk and guide members to achieve optimal health:

1. Engage Skilled Healthcare Professionals

   Engaging a team of skilled, empathetic healthcare professionals is crucial for conducting effective in-home health assessments. Licensed nurse practitioners (NPs) and certified physician assistants (PAs) trained in observational techniques, health plan member communication, and comprehensive clinical assessments make people feel at ease so they are comfortable sharing the details of their health status, habits, and support systems. These skilled professionals know how to identify health risks, assess environmental factors, and understand nuanced behaviors that may affect a member’s health. This improves risk assessment quality and outcomes for both members and health plans.

2. Use Standardized Assessment Tools

   Standardized assessment tools, which thoroughly and objectively cover physical health, mental wellness, mobility, and safety risks, are essential for maintaining consistency and accuracy. Health plans can use a combination of standardized checklists, digital tools, and other assessment guidelines to capture comprehensive data that makes tracking member progress consistent and easier over time.

3. Adopt a Member-Centered Approach

   An effective in-home health assessment is about more than collecting data. A member-centered approach prioritizes listening to a member’s concerns, understanding their needs, culture, and environment, and addressing health anxieties. By focusing on a member’s perspective, health plans can build trust, encourage open communication, and construct a complete picture of all the factors affecting a member’s health and how to address them.

4. Leverage Data-Driven Insights for Personalized Care

   Data gathered during in-home health assessments is invaluable for creating targeted, data-driven care plans. By analyzing health trends, identifying recurring risk factors, and utilizing predictive analytics, health plans can develop actionable insights to tailor care. These data-driven insights enable plans to proactively address potential health risks and adapt care strategies, based on measurable outcomes, that help members achieve and maintain optimal health.

Achieve Better IHA Outcomes with Focus Care

More thorough data leads to better health outcomes. Following these best practices for comprehensive in-home health assessments, personalized to meet each member’s needs, helps health plans better assess risks, close gaps, and improve RAF score accuracy.

Focus Care’s network of more than 11,000 skilled providers puts health plan members at ease while gathering crucial data. Contact us to schedule a free consultation and discuss how our team can help achieve your goals.