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Fax the agency's referral packet to its intake fax line: signed physician orders, the face-to-face encounter note, a current medication list, and insurance details. Agencies commonly fax back incomplete packets rather than chasing you by phone, so check the agency's referral checklist before you send and confirm receipt the same day.
| What goes in the packet | Why the agency needs it |
|---|---|
| Physician's signed orders | Home health is a physician-ordered service; without a signed order, the agency cannot start |
| Face-to-face encounter documentation | Payers require a qualifying encounter note showing the patient was seen and needs skilled care at home |
| Medication list and allergies | Needed for the start-of-care nursing visit and medication reconciliation |
| Demographics and insurance cards | Verify eligibility and benefits before the first visit |
| Relevant history and diagnoses | Lets the agency assign the right disciplines: nursing, therapy, social work |
Home health agencies publish intake or referral fax lines on their websites, usually on a "Referrals" or "For Physicians" page. Many pair the fax line with a referral cover sheet you can download. Use that cover sheet: it lists exactly what the intake team expects, and the checkboxes on it double as your packing list. Do not send a referral to a general office fax number; intake lines route straight to the team that processes referrals, and a general line can sit unread for days.
Payers, including Medicare, require documentation that the patient had a face-to-face encounter with a physician or qualified practitioner that supports the need for home health services, within a defined window around the start of care. This is the most common reason referrals get bounced back. The encounter note must show the clinical findings that justify skilled services at home, not just that a visit happened. If the referring doctor's office is sending the referral, the note usually goes with it; if you are assembling the packet, ask the physician's office for the signed encounter note before faxing anything.
A complete packet typically gets processed into an admission or a callback within a business day or two. An incomplete packet goes back to you, often by fax, with the missing items marked: the most frequent gaps are unsigned orders, missing encounter documentation, and insurance that turns out not to cover the service. Each round trip costs a day, so the checklist-first approach is not fussiness; it is the difference between a nurse visiting this week and one visiting next week.
One more thing: confirm the fax arrived. Agencies triage referrals in the order received, and a fax that went to a dead line or a wrong number never enters the queue. A short call to intake after faxing is standard practice in physician offices, and it is worth doing from home too.
LetterAgent sends faxes by request to your AI assistant: describe the packet, approve the exact quoted price after the page count is verified, and pay once, to US and Canadian fax numbers. Fax is available in testing while activation is in progress, so it is described as in testing rather than promised to send today. For time-sensitive referrals, send through a channel you can confirm the same day and keep the confirmation.
Ready to fax it? Fax with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is sent.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
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