Decision Health and the National Research Corporation have released the HomeCare Elite 2014, the ninth annual listing of the top home health agencies in the country. You can download the list here: HomeCare Elite 2014.

Every year since 2006, the HomeCare Elite has named the nation’s top home health agencies based on objective data available through Medicare and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  The 2014 rankings are based on five domains of performance: quality of care measures in Medicare’s Home Health Compare; quality improvement and consistency; patient experience (a.k.a. HHCAHPS); process measure implementation (again Home Health Compare); and financial performance (as available in annual cost reports submitted by all Medicare-certified home health agencies that have over a minimum annual census).

All home health agencies should check to see if they and their competitors are on the list.  Remember the simple CTRL + F function to make a search box appear and to search for company or city names. This may save you a lot of page scanning through thousands of names. In the current state of home health marketing, it is vitally important to make doctors and discharge planners appreciate the credibility of your home health agency. The HomeCare Elite list is a more important tool than ever for doing exactly this. Be sure to determine if your agency additionally received a TOP 100 or TOP 500 classification. In the 2014 HomeCare Elite list, this is designated by symbols on the left.

A new feature in the 2014 HomeCare Elite list is a display of past performance. Showing consistency on this list can be another selling point for agencies. Now, the list tracks this for you in the right column. You now have the opportunity to easily check your past performance against that of your top competitors and make statements such as “Named to the HomeCare Elite more consistently than any other home health agency in the region.”

Agencies that have made the HomeCare Elite 2014 list should make note of this soon in their regular physician correspondence.  All Medicare-certified home health agencies should have a regular system (i.e. monthly) for consistent communication with doctors and discharge planners.  If you do not have this, please see Brazzell’s Referral Doubling Strategy in Home Health Care Marketing or contact Brazzell Marketing Agency today.   In addition, keep in mind that you can update business cards, brochures, and websites to reflect your accomplishment.  Brazzell Marketing Agency can also help with these tasks.

To download the 2014 list in PDF format, click here: HomeCare Elite 2014