Supporting nurses in

primary health care

Nurse Home Visit (NHV) Guidelines

This guideline has been written for the primary health care
nurse working in a general practice setting providing nursing Suggested questions
services to a patient in their own home, for example wound
∞∞ What NHV service will the practice provide?
care or health assessment. This may be suitable for a patient
who, for medical or social reasons, is unable to attend the ∞∞ What is the timeline to implement this activity?
surgery and provides an opportunity to assess environmental Include scheduled times for other staff meetings.
and social factors impacting on the patient’s health. ∞∞ How will NHVs be scheduled into current sessions?
E.g. is there a time of day, week, month or year when
While home visiting has significant benefits to patients, there
patient traffic is reliably less?
are a number of risks associated with nurse home visits (NHV)
for the nurse, patient and employer that require policies and ∞∞ Is there scope to employ another nurse to provide
procedures to be established by practices or employers. this new service?
These systems should address occupational health and safety ∞∞ How often will NHVs be scheduled? E.g. daily/
(OH&S) requirements, potential risks and ensure the NHV role weekly/fortnightly.
is maximised. ∞∞ What is the time allocation for the NHVs?
Your practice may have a policy that covers home visits and ∞∞ Who will be responsible for completing the tasks
this document can be used to reflect on existing policy. required for the procedure, systems and processes
to work efficiently? E.g. booking the appointments,
The process creation of related templates and documents, data
searches to identifying patients, recall, reminder and
The nurse home visit process can be broken down into:
follow-up of outcomes.
1. Planning
∞∞ Under what circumstances will NHVs not be
2. Implementation provided? E.g. distance (no telephone coverage),
3. Review safety (pets and animals), known aggressive patient
or carer, patient isolation.
Planning ∞∞ How will the practice be alerted or made aware
of risks?
i) Raise whole of practice awareness of risks, benefits,
processes and roles ∞∞ What level of nursing qualification will be required
to perform a home visit?
To ensure a successful framework for the NHV there needs
to be a whole of practice approach. Staff must be aware of ∞∞ What nursing scope of practice is required? How will
the role they will play. this be measured? What training is available to fill
gaps in the provision of the service?
Schedule a team meeting within the practice, including but
not limited to GPs, practice manager, general practice nurses ∞∞ Is there opportunity for professional development
and reception staff, to discuss the idea of implementing of to increase the scope of practice of current staff
NHVs. It is essential that every staff member is aware of the members?
new service being offered by the practice, including the risk ∞∞ In what kilometre radius will the practice offer to
and benefits to the practice. It is important that each team provide this service?
member has the opportunity to contribute their unique ∞∞ Will there be provision for travel expense if private
input to the formation of the NHV procedure, and take vehicles are used? Is the vehicle properly insured
responsibility for the maintenance of quality and safety in and maintained? Does the nurse have a full current
the delivery of the service. driver’s licence?
∞∞ Are the nurse and employer adequately insured
to provide this service?

APNA NURSE HOME VISIT GUIDELINES 1

 Supporting nurses in
primary health care Nurse Home Visit (NHV) Guidelines
ii) Ascertain resources iii) Safety for the nurse
It is important to plan what resources and skills are required Safety is paramount for both the patient and the nurse.
to carry out the NHV. Safety in the workplace is critical to the success of any
Does/do the nurse/s have: business, no matter what size. Employers have responsibilities
∞∞ suitable transport and current driver’s licence; regarding health and safety in the workplace including when
the employee works off-site.
∞∞ directory assistance/GPS navigation system;
∞∞ means of communication (to the practice/patient’s home, Knowing and understanding OH&S law will help employers
e.g. mobile phone); avoid the unnecessary trauma, costs and damage caused
by workplace injury and illness.
∞∞ means for documentation of notes (laptop or tablet);
Visit http://www.business.gov.au/BusinessTopics/
∞∞ nurse’s bag for equipment and consumables;
Occupationalhealthandsafety/Pages/default.aspx.
∞∞ esky (if immunisation provided);
∞∞ insurance to cover travel between the practice, patient’s Personal safety
residence and return; It is important to consider the personal safety of the nurse
∞∞ insurance for passengers (patients, student nurses); home visitor.
∞∞ public indemnity insurance; Consideration must be given to:
∞∞ practice insurance? ∞∞ the time of day this service will be offered (only daylight
hours);
Does the employer have templates for:
∞∞ communication with practice staff around time of
∞∞ logging kilometres travelled;
departure and expected time of return;
∞∞ logging time taken to conduct NHV; ∞∞ individual patient issues (infectious disease/immune
∞∞ patient visit list and appointment times at reception; status/mental health);
∞∞ patient feedback/questionnaire; ∞∞ adequate/safe parking at the residence;
∞∞ patient rights document, with information for the patient ∞∞ access to residence;
in regard to the NHV, OH&S expectations when a nurse ∞∞ location of the residence;
enters their home (pets, smoking, other people, access),
the patient’s right to refuse or withdraw at any time;
∞∞ other household residents;
∞∞ practice documentation/advertising to communicate the
∞∞ pets;
service to existing and new patients (including information ∞∞ nurse’s natural instinct for unsafe environments;
about scheduling the service from a patient perspective); ∞∞ nurse’s natural instinct for danger/risk;
∞∞ community health service provider/Aboriginal Health ∞∞ injury to nurse whilst in the patient’s home (tripping,
Service contacts? slipping);
The practice should have a travel policy in place which ∞∞ what to do in case of an accident or road rage;
sufficiently remunerates the travel costs incurred by the ∞∞ safe driving;
nurse if using their own vehicle. The Australian Tax Office has ∞∞ unsecured equipment in vehicle;
a guide for appropriate kilometre allowances (search ATO
website for cents per kilometer method).
∞∞ adverse weather (flood, fire, fog, storms);
∞∞ equipping the nurse with a personal duress alarm;
The practice should have a process and insurance policy in
the case of a motor vehicle accident, for example if a nurse ∞∞ attending a NHV in a pair, particularly where volatile
is required to drive their own vehicle the practice will pay the behaviour is likely or unpredictable.
excess incurred in an insurance claim should the nurse have
an accident while in transit between the practice and
patients’ homes. Definition of instinct
Behaviour that is mediated by reactions below the
conscious level is largely inheritable and unalterable
tendency of an organism to make a complex and
specific response to environmental stimuli without
involving reason.

APNA NURSE HOME VISIT GUIDELINES 2

 Supporting nurses in
primary health care Nurse Home Visit (NHV) Guidelines
Clinical safety vi) Scope of the NHV
Consideration must be given to: The practice must decide the boundaries for the NHV.
∞∞ needlesticks and sharps disposal; ∞∞ What procedures and nurse activities will be provided or
∞∞ biohazardous waste disposal/cytotoxics; conducted using the NHV model? For example will the
model be limited to dressings and health assessments?
∞∞ single use items disposal;
∞∞ Will the practice provide a mobile flu vaccination service
∞∞ transport of specimens;
for their at risk patients who fall into a particular wellness
∞∞ cold chain maintenance; category?
∞∞ infection control;
∞∞ equipment required to maintain clinical safety Model for implementation
(gloves, goggles, hand wash, eskies for maintenance
Once the planning sections have been considered it is
of thermostability).
possible to move forward to implementation by creating
iv) Safety for the patient a model suitable for use in your particular practice.
The safety of the patient in this setting must also be What tools can be used to aid the implementation of new
considered, such as: systems and processes?
∞∞ maintenance of cold chain; As mentioned earlier in the ii) Ascertain resources section
∞∞ sterile environments; there are a number of templates that can be created to assist.
Suggested templates include but are not limited to:
∞∞ of attending nurse’s scope of practice;
∞∞ checklist for NHV process;
∞∞ repercussions of decisions made;
∞∞ checklist of equipment and devices (for the NHV);
∞∞ cultural sensitivity;
∞∞ patient visit list (including patient address, contact numbers
∞∞ provision of best practice in the home setting;
and emergency contact details);
∞∞ patient rights. ∞∞ patient rights document.
v) Billing arrangements for the NHV When the nurse is ready to depart he/she must advise a
How the NHV will be billed needs to be considered and minimum of two staff members that he/she is commencing
communicated to all staff members and patients. home visits, with one staff member responsible for logging
the nurse’s movements. More than one person must be
∞∞ Will there be a fee charged to the patient (non-Medicare
made aware of the nurse’s movements. Failure to do so could
rebate) for the convenience of the nurse attending the
result in the breakdown of communication and increased risk
patient in their own home?
to the nurse/practice, for instance if the one staff member
∞∞ How will the accounts be processed? who knows about the nurse’s movements does not pass this
∞∞ Is remote processing an option? information on and becomes unwell or goes to lunch, the
chain of communication is broken.

APNA NURSE HOME VISIT GUIDELINES 3

 Supporting nurses in
primary health care Nurse Home Visit (NHV) Guidelines
Home visiting nurse will provide staff in practice with: Review
∞∞ a patient visit list including address and phone numbers; Upon completion of the first few visits it is important for
∞∞ an expected time of return; the team to review the process, what issues arose and what
∞∞ a phone call at the completion of each consultation for improvements can be made. Some questions that may be
tracking; considered include:
∞∞ the phone number for the mobile phone being taken on ∞∞ Did we allocate enough time for visits, travel and
the visits. documentation?
∞∞ Did the nurse feel safe?
Staff in practice will:
∞∞ Were any risks identified that were not considered
∞∞ place the patient visit list in a designated area (reception/
originally?
front desk);
∞∞ Was the patient feedback positive or negative? How will
∞∞ keep the patient visit list up-to-date with nurses movements
patient feedback be collated and used (foundation for
(when the nurse phones to advise of the completion of a
research/study)?
visit, it is logged on the patient visit list in practice);
∞∞ Did everyone in the practice understand their role?
∞∞ communicate changes to other staff members as required.
∞∞ Was documentation efficient, relevant, sufficient and/or
The nurse will complete all consultation notes in the patient’s clinically useful?
home (unless not appropriate), prior to beginning the next
consultation.
With a focus on nurse safety, the nurse will call the practice
at the end of each visit before progressing to the next NHV
and will also communicate any unexpected circumstances
that may delay arrival back at the practice (more than one
hour). Calling from the patient’s home to make a review
appointment with the GP is sufficient and can help minimise
time making phone calls.
On return to the practice the nurse will immediately advise
staff members of their return. This time will be documented
on the patient visit list, scanned and filed by administration
staff.
The nurse will then attend to any specimens, cold chain
requirements, restocking of used items and nurse bag,
biohazardous waste, etc.
The nurse will then complete any follow-up work and
documentation, hand over any urgent or critical information
to the GP/s, complete phone calls and make follow-up
appointments as required.

APNA NURSE HOME VISIT GUIDELINES 4

 Supporting nurses in
primary health care Nurse Home Visit (NHV) Guidelines

Example templates
Example 1. Patient list (may be electronic or hard copy)

Patient Address Phone Emergency contact/ Estimated time Activity/ Visit start Visit Notes/
name Patient carer/ required for visit Assessment time completion Alerts
Next of kin to carry out time

Deaf

Aggressive
dog

Example 2. Checklist of equipment and devices (may be electronic or hard copy)

Item

Nurse bag (stocked adequately)

Laptop/tablet/other

Mobile phone (fully charged)

Car keys

Patient visit list

Other

APNA NURSE HOME VISIT GUIDELINES 5

 Supporting nurses in
primary health care Nurse Home Visit (NHV) Guidelines

Sample flow chart

The use of a flow chart can be helpful when planning your model. Below is an example that can be adjusted as required to suit
your practice policy.

Use the checklist of items Advise practice staff Nurse to document case
needed for visit you are leaving notes prior to moving to
Gather equipment Supply patient list, mobile next consultation
number, expected time Phone practice to advise
of return

Restock used items and Unpack specimens, When visits complete

nurses bag see to any cold chain return to practice
Charge mobile phone requirements Immediately advise staff
Dispose of any bio waste you are back
appropriately

Complete any follow-up work and documentation

Handover any urgent or critical information to
doctors
Complete phone calls and follow-up appointments

Figure 1. Flow chart: Primary health care nurses providing home visits from a general practice setting.

APNA NURSE HOME VISIT GUIDELINES 6

 Supporting nurses in
primary health care Nurse Home Visit (NHV) Guidelines

Coordinated Veterans’ Care Program

What is involved when a primary health care nurse working in 4. Conduct a comprehensive needs assessment:
general practice or an Aboriginal health practitioner makes a It is important to assess self-management, anxiety, depression
home visit to conduct the comprehensive needs assessment and lifestyle risks. If a Care Plan has not been developed
for a veteran who is enrolling on the Coordinated Veterans’ or commenced it is recommended that the care planning
Care Program? documentation as detailed in the CVC Toolkit is used to
The information to be gained during the home visit will conduct a needs assessment and develop a Care Plan.
vary depending on what information is already on record Click here to download these resources and see Module Two
at the practice and how much progress has been made in in the CVC Program for training http://www.cvcprogram.net.
developing the veterans care plan. The prompts provided au/resources.
here relate to information that is best suited to assessment The toolkit includes:
in a person’s home rather than the full range of factors in ∞∞ The Flinders Program™ Partners in Health Scale and Cue
conducting an assessment. and Response Interviews to assess self-management of
1. Explain to the veteran the reasons for the home visit: chronic diseases/conditions;
This stage would be conducted face to face at the practice ∞∞ The Flinders Program™ Problem and Goals and Care Plans
or via a phone consultation. to identify what the veteran states as their main problem
∞∞ To get to know the veteran and their health better; and map agreed issues and actions;
∞∞ To see how they are coping at home with their conditions; ∞∞ The Kessler 10 to assess anxiety and depression;
∞∞ To build on what is already known about the veteran ∞∞ The SNAP assessment of lifestyle risk factors is an optional
to develop a Care Plan to help them be as healthy and extra.
independent as possible. Completion of the Partners in Health scale before or during
2. Set up an appointment: a home visit followed by working through the Cue and
As above, this stage would be conducted prior to the home Response Interview will provide information about key areas
visit. of self-management. This information includes knowledge
∞∞ Explain how long the appointment could take; of the veteran’s condition, their involvement in care planning,
monitoring and responding to their condition as well as
∞∞ Ask whether the veteran would like any family or carer
impact, lifestyle and support services.
to be present.
If a Flinders Program™ Partners in Health and Cue and
3. Develop the relationship: Response tools are used and it is culturally appropriate you
∞∞ An important part of the first home visit is developing the may ask to have a tour of the home.
relationship with the veteran and any family or carers so
that they get to know and trust you; Health, medical condition and medications:
∞∞ Explain your role, encourage them to ask questions, ∞∞ What are the health problems of greatest importance to
provide information about when and how you can be the veteran?
contacted; ∞∞ Check the medicine cupboard and around the home.
∞∞ Explain what they should do if the veteran is hospitalised Are there out of date medications? Is the veteran doubling
(family or carer to advise the practice on admission and up on some medications, not taking medications,
prior to discharge, take the care plan to hospital if possible, confused about what to take when? Do they need a
tell the hospital they are on the CVC Program). home medicines review from a pharmacist?
∞∞ Does the evidence support what you have previously
assessed about their tobacco and alcohol use, sleep
patterns, physical activity and nutrition – ask to see in the
fridge/pantry? Is it sufficient and suitable quality?

APNA NURSE HOME VISIT GUIDELINES 7

 Supporting nurses in
primary health care Nurse Home Visit (NHV) Guidelines
Cognitive/behavioural aspects ∞∞ Do they use or need any devices or equipment (i.e. cane,
This assessment may not have been done in the practice and prosthesis, commode, shower rail)?
may be more suited to conduct in a follow-up session at the ∞∞ Does the veteran use or need a personal alarm to wear?
veteran’s home, when some rapport has been developed. ∞∞ Is transport assistance required? Does the veteran need
∞∞ Check for signs of memory loss/disorientation/confusion; assistance with making and attending appointments with
∞∞ Discuss mental health history and consider use of the specialists/allied health, etc.
Kessler 10; Tip: For a list of Department of Veterans’ Affairs services and
∞∞ Consider psychosocial factors such as their perception of treatments see the Health Services Chart at: http://www.dva.
loneliness, bereavement or loss of motivation; gov.au/service_providers/services/Pages/health_services.
∞∞ Social factors; aspx.
∞∞ What are their social needs and the extent and availability 5. Work with the veteran to complete the self-management
of social support? (including family, carers, neighbours and page of the Care Plan including advice and assistance for
friends); referrals or services needed.
∞∞ Ask questions about hobbies, pets and activities to
understand if the veteran is socially isolated? Include any recommendations for:
∞∞ Consider the needs of a person’s carer. Can they continue
∞∞ Self-management goals – diet, smoking, exercise, alcohol,
to provide care and support? Is there a backup person/ medications, appointments, health education, etc;
plan if the main carer becomes ill or needs some respite/ ∞∞ Community nursing services or carer specific support
holidays? services;
∞∞ Veterans’ Home Care services including social assistance;
Physical capability
∞∞ Referrals needed, e.g. optometry, audiology, dietitian,
Seek evidence of their capacity to perform the activities of podiatrist, home medication review?
daily living, with specific regard to: ∞∞ Other community resources that might be accessed.
∞∞ mobility and balance, including walking, transfers and
climbing stairs. Are they currently in pain? Consider use Please note: To allow flexibility for GPs and nursing
of a pain score (on a scale of 0 to 10, what is the severity providers, there is no set template for Care Plans. The GP
of your pain?). Have they had a fall in the last 3 months can add to an existing GPMP to develop a comprehensive
(Falls assessment)? If it was at home ask them to show you care plan, or there are care plan samples available at
where. Assess the home for trip hazards or other potential http://www.cvcprogram.net.au/resources.
risks. A veteran friendly version of the care plan should also be
∞∞ maintaining personal hygiene, including bathing, grooming, given to the CVC participant to encourage self-management
toileting, continence and dressing of their health and wellbeing.
∞∞ eating and drinking. Are daily activities (chores, meal
preparation, shopping) a problem? Is the food preparation Set a date for review. This should take place at
area adequate? the end of the care plan. Involve the veteran in a
discussion about feedback and ask questions about the
∞∞ their level of independence. What transport do they use?
experience, and document your findings as part of your
Do they shop, prepare meals? How do they manage with
reflection on the process.
home maintenance and housekeeping?

Domestic
Sources: Commonwealth of Australia Aged Care Assessment
Consider the abilities and limitations within the person’s
and Approval Guidelines September 2006
living environment including safety issues, which may require
resolution. Flinders Human Behaviour & Health Research Unit
http://www.flinders.edu.au/medicine/sites/fhbhru
∞∞ Are there any hazards around the home (i.e. slippery
surfaces, steps and stairs, tripping hazards)? Is a HomeFront
assessment needed?

Level 2, 159 Dorcas St, South Melbourne VIC 3205 Tel: 03 9669 7400 Freecall 1300 303 184 www.apna.asn.au
Supporting nurses in Supporting nurses in primary health care
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primary health care

APNA NURSE HOME VISIT GUIDELINES 8