ATLANTA - Medicare may cut off payments to Visiting Nurse Health System, metro Atlanta's largest home health provider, because of several cases of inadequate patient care and providing incomplete clinical records. <br>
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The company provides care to more than 20,000 patients a year in 26 Georgia counties. <br>
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In the most serious case cited, the report said Visiting Nurse Health System failed to provide proper care for a wound on a diabetic patient's foot. It also failed to notify the patient's doctor of fluctuations in blood sugar levels and other problems. <br>
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The diabetic's leg had to be amputated after it was described as gangrenous, according to a report released Wednesday by the federal Centers for Medicare And Medicaid Services. <br>
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In spectors said the agency mishandled nursing care for ten of 23 other patients whose files were reviewed. In those cases, and in ten others, nurses did not maintain complete clinical records or failed to inform doctors of changes in the patients' condition. <br>
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None of those patients was harmed by the deficient care, according to the report. <br>
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To avoid being terminated from the federal Medicaid and Medicare programs, the agency must show by Saturday that it is complying with federal requirements.
