9313 ASSIGNMENT AND DELEGATION OF NURSING CARE TASKS TO HOME HEALTH AIDES

9313.1 A licensed nurse or authorized health care professional may assign or delegate tasks to HHAs that are among the authorized tasks listed in § 9315.9313.2 HHAs shall not practice independently but shall work under the supervision of a licensed nurse or other licensed health care professional.9313.3 The delegation or assignment shall comply with the standards for delegation listed in 17 DCMR § 5415. Nursing care tasks that may be delegated shall be determined by:- (a) The knowledge and skills of the HHA;

- (b) Verification of the clinical competence of the HHA by the employing agency;

- (c) The stability of the client's condition, including factors such as predictability, absence of risk of complication, and rate of change in health status; and

- (d) The variables in each health care setting which include, but are not limited to:

- (1) The accessible resources and established policies, procedures, practices and channels of communication that lend support to the type of nursing tasks being delegated to the home health aide;

- (2) The complexity and frequency of care needed by a given client population; and

- (3) The accessibility of a licensed nurse or other license health care professional.9313.4 Nursing tasks that inherently involve on-going assessment, interpretation, or decision making that cannot be logically separated from one or more procedures shall not be delegated to the HHA.

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 59 DCR 8359 (July 13, 2012); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 64 DCR 9594 (September 29, 2017).