Just a question . . .

When I help Hospice build their Model, we always talk caseloads and visit models. I always ask what the “right” number of visits is for a nurse. And, predictably, I always get 20 to 22 visits a week. Like clockwork. They say that, but do they believe that?

Here’s why I wonder: We have this great product we call MagicViews. We create an every-Monday dashboard that show Clinical Managers exactly how many visits their clinicians give them every week. It’s fun for me when I show this dash for the first time. Truth is, Managers don’t know. They’ve no clue how many visits and/or phone calls their clinicians make each week. So when we show them their truth, they are always stunned.

We say 20 visits should be our standard for nurses, but Hospices routinely accept 13. We accept even fewer from social workers and chaplains. But we expect more from CNAs. Funny, there’s seems to be an inverse relationship between level of education and our performance expectations.

(While I’m soapboxing, I worked with one organization where the nurses were up in arms about being asked to average 20 visits a week. Why, with their geography and mileage, that was impossible. How dare we ask such a thing. But every week on the MagicViews dash we showed their CNAs making 24 or more visits every week.)

Which is better? To have three nurses who will give you 13 visits a week. Or to have two nurses who will give you 20 visits per week?

Hint: Option One gives you one less visit every week and costs you an additional FTE.