==== Front
Innov Aging
Innov Aging
innovateage
Innovation in Aging
2399-5300 Oxford University Press US 

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.801
igaa057.801
Abstracts
Session 2911 (Paper)
Home-Based Care
AcademicSubjects/SOC02600
Skilled Home Health Care Agency Perspectives on Communication With Physicians: A National Survey
Norton Jonathan 1 Nkodo Amelie 1 Nangunuri Bhavana 2 Pierotti Danielle 3 Carl Kimberly 4 Sheehan Orla 1 Boyd Cynthia 1 Leff Bruce 1 1 
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
2 
Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia, United States
3 
Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire, White River Junction, Vermont, United States
4 
Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
2020 
16 12 2020 
16 12 2020 
4 Suppl 1 Program Abstracts from The GSA 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting “Turning 75: Why Age Matters”248 249
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America.2020This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Abstract
BACKGROUND: Communication is important in the care of older adults receiving skilled home health care (SHHC). In a prior national survey, physicians viewed communication and care coordination with SHHC agencies as dismal. The views of SHHC personnel (Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Speech-Language Pathologists) on this issue have not been well studied. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of communication between SHHC personnel and physicians who order SHHC services. METHODS: A nationally representative mailed survey of personnel from SHHC agencies identified through the 2016 Home Health Compare data set from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services. RESULTS: 263 of 2000 surveys returned (13.2% response rate). Responding agencies were mainly proprietary (75.3%) and urban-based (83.7%). Most agencies were in the South (38.8%); 28.3% Midwest, 22.9% West, 12.1% Northeast. Only 62.2% of SHHC personnel completing start of care visits (n=202) reported being able to contact a physician when needed. The most common strategies used to contact physicians are phone (76.0%) and fax (11.2%). The greatest barriers to communication are having to communicate through a third party (64.9%) and a perception by SHHC personnel that “Physicians [are] not interested in communicating with SHHC Personnel” (45.1%). Failed communication resulted in delayed orders (70.8%) and sending a patient to the emergency room (37.1%). IMPLICATIONS: SHHC agency personnel experience significant barriers in communicating with physicians. Modes of communication remain rudimentary, and there are serious consequences of failed communication.