New to home health?
Start here.
The honest, plain-English guide to working in home health — for new grads and for experienced clinicians stepping out of the facility for the first time. What to pack, how a first visit really goes, what OASIS is, how pay works.
Written for the field, not the app Brought to you by ZigBuddy
The first three things to figure out.
If you do nothing else before your first visit, read these in order. Then come back for the rest when you need it.
Coming from a hospital or SNF? Skip ahead to charting basics and OASIS, explained — that's where the field differs most.
- 1
Getting started in home health
What the job really is, who hires, and how to make the jump.
Read the guide
- 2
What to pack for home health visits
A complete bag checklist — and the bag technique that keeps it clean.
Read the guide
- 3
Your first home health visit
A step-by-step walkthrough of a first visit, start to finish.
Read the guide
What home health actually is, and how to walk into your first visits prepared.
-
Getting started in home health
What the job really is, who hires, and how to make the jump.
Read the guide
-
What to pack for home health visits
A complete bag checklist — and the bag technique that keeps it clean.
Read the guide
-
Your first home health visit
A step-by-step walkthrough of a first visit, start to finish.
Read the guide
-
Staying safe on home visits
Reading a home, planning ahead, and trusting your gut.
Read the guide
The paperwork side nobody trains you for — explained in plain language.
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Home health charting basics
Point-of-care charting, what payers want, and charting faster.
Read the guide
-
OASIS, explained
What it is, why it matters, and how to stop dreading it.
Read the guide
-
Working with caregivers and families
The interpersonal side nobody trains you for — and how to do it well.
Read the guide
How you get paid, how PRN works, and how people juggle more than one agency.
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How home health pay works
Per-visit vs. salary, productivity points, and real take-home.
Read the guide
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Working PRN in home health
The flexibility, the trade-offs, and how to start.
Read the guide
-
Working for multiple agencies
Keeping schedules, mileage, and pay straight across agencies.
Read the guide
-
Time management in the field
How clinicians who don't chart at 11 p.m. actually run their day.
Read the guide
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A real day in home health
One PT's Tuesday, hour by hour — and the math at the end.
Read the guide
Quick references you'll actually pull up before a visit.
Short, focused cards meant for a phone screen — the kind of thing clinicians screenshot and share. Print-friendly too, if that's your thing.
- Field card
Skilled verbs cheat sheet
The 20 verbs auditors look for, grouped by what they do — assess, intervene, adjust, communicate — each with an example phrase from a real chart.
Open the card
- Field card
Charting: Do / Don't card
Side-by-side phrases that show skilled need vs. phrases that get visits denied. The translation table every new clinician needs taped above the desk.
Open the card
- Field card
Caregiver burnout: 5 questions
Five gentle screening questions to ask the spouse or adult child doing the unpaid work — and what to do with the answers.
Open the card
Things to use, not just read.
- Calculator
Real hourly rate calculator
Plug in your per-visit rate, miles, and hours — see the rate the sticker price doesn't tell you.
Open the calculator
- Glossary
Home health glossary
OASIS, PDGM, homebound, bag technique, episode of care — every term you'll hit in your first weeks, defined plainly.
Open the glossary
- PDF · Worksheet
Mileage worksheet
One month of business miles, tracked per agency. Print one per month and fill in by hand.
Download the PDF
- PDF · Worksheet
Pay worksheet
One week of visits, rates, and clock-to-clock hours — to see your real hourly with real numbers, not estimates.
Download the PDF
The Home Health Survival Kit
A free, printable starter pack — bag checklist, first-visit walkthrough, and a quick-reference cheat sheet. No email required.
No email required. Yours to print.
A quick note on what this is. Home Health 101 is about the job — the craft of home care, whoever you work for. It's free, and you don't need ZigBuddy to use it. If you're already a ZigBuddy user looking for help with the app, head to Video guides instead.