A scenario of partnership
If you’re wondering how a partnership between a hospital and private duty agency might work, here’s one scenario from Gary Retone, director of business development for in-home services for South Hills Health System in Pittsburgh. (For more information on opportunities to work with hospital systems, see p. 110.)
In this scenario, the hospital provides the following:
• private duty patient referrals;
• the name of the private duty business;
• director of the program someone who markets the program to the community;
• access to the hospital and its campus;
• marketing materials;
• a business manager to handle marketing;
• office space at the hospital;
• office equipment, such as telephones, faxes, and copiers.
The private duty agency is responsible for providing staff and managing the service. "The private duty company provides the coordinator the person who matches clients and staff and the nurses, live-in homemakers, and companions," Retone says.
With regard to the staff, the agency provides:
• training;
• on-call coverage;
• recruitment, screening, and orientation;
• payroll services, such as issuing paychecks and handling tax forms;
• insurance and liability coverage.
The hospital also requires the private duty agency to maintain a computer system that tracks patient information and outcomes. This includes financial information, clinical outcomes, and patient satisfaction reports.
Although the staff and coordinator are employees of the private duty agency, all services in the partnership are rendered through the hospital private duty service. For example, if a hospital names the new partnership "Private Care," the coordinator will answer the telephone with that name, and bills will be issued by the hospital under that name.
Once services are rendered, the private duty agency bills the hospital for the cost of labor plus expenses. The difference between the cost to the client and this bill then goes to pay the hospital’s expenses. The remaining net profit is split by the hospital and the agency.
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