{"data":{"id":"us/42-cfr-484.2","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"42 CFR 484.2","heading":"Definitions.","body":"As used in subparts A, B, and C, of this part—\nAllowed practitioner means a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist as defined at this part.\nBranch office means an approved location or site from which a home health agency provides services within a portion of the total geographic area served by the parent agency. The parent home health agency must provide supervision and administrative control of any branch office. It is unnecessary for the branch office to independently meet the conditions of participation as a home health agency.\nClinical note means a notation of a contact with a patient that is written, timed, and dated, and which describes signs and symptoms, treatment, drugs administered and the patient's reaction or response, and any changes in physical or emotional condition during a given period of time.\nClinical nurse specialist means an individual as defined at § 410.76(a) and (b) of this chapter, and who is working in collaboration with the physician as defined at § 410.76(c)(3) of this chapter.\nIn advance means that HHA staff must complete the task prior to performing any hands-on care or any patient education.\nNurse practitioner means an individual as defined at § 410.75(a) and (b) of this chapter, and who is working in collaboration with the physician as defined at § 410.75(c)(3) of this chapter.\nParent home health agency means the agency that provides direct support and administrative control of a branch.\nPhysician is a doctor of medicine, osteopathy, or podiatric medicine, and who is not precluded from performing this function under paragraph (d) of this section. (A doctor of podiatric medicine may perform only plan of treatment functions that are consistent with the functions he or she is authorized to perform under State law.)\nPhysician assistant means an individual as defined at § 410.74(a) and (c) of this chapter.\nPrimary home health agency means the HHA which accepts the initial referral of a patient, and which provides services directly to the patient or via another health care provider under arrangements (as applicable).\nProprietary agency means a private, for-profit agency.\nPseudo-patient means a person trained to participate in a role-play situation, or a computer-based mannequin device. A pseudo-patient must be capable of responding to and interacting with the home health aide trainee, and must demonstrate the general characteristics of the primary patient population served by the HHA in key areas such as age, frailty, functional status, and cognitive status.\nPublic agency means an agency operated by a state or local government.\nQuality indicator means a specific, valid, and reliable measure of access, care outcomes, or satisfaction, or a measure of a process of care.\nRepresentative means the patient's legal representative, such as a guardian, who makes health-care decisions on the patient's behalf, or a patient-selected representative who participates in making decisions related to the patient's care or well-being, including but not limited to, a family member or an advocate for the patient. The patient determines the role of the representative, to the extent possible.\nSimulation means a training and assessment technique that mimics the reality of the homecare environment, including environmental distractions and constraints that evoke or replicate substantial aspects of the real world in a fully interactive fashion, in order to teach and assess proficiency in performing skills, and to promote decision making and critical thinking.\nSubdivision means a component of a multi-function health agency, such as the home care department of a hospital or the nursing division of a health department, which independently meets the conditions of participation for HHAs. A subdivision that has branch offices is considered a parent agency.\nSummary report means the compilation of the pertinent factors of a patient's clinical notes that is submitted to the patient's physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist.\nSupervised practical training means training in a practicum laboratory or other setting in which the trainee demonstrates knowledge while providing covered services to an individual under the direct supervision of either a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse who is under the supervision of a registered nurse.\nVerbal order means a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist order that is spoken to appropriate personnel and later put in writing for the purposes of documenting as well as establishing or revising the patient's plan of care.","path":["Title 42—Public Health","CHAPTER IV—CENTERS FOR MEDICARE \u0026 MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","SUBCHAPTER G—STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION","PART 484—HOME HEALTH SERVICES","Subpart A—General Provisions"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-42.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:26:11Z","sha256":"c7009b83ddbf5a651b4829b9b9e557e68c14093bf38d150b13e598a69fe4a2b3","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/42-cfr-484.1","next":"us/42-cfr-484.40"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}