Most agencies review every policy at least once a year, and update a policy sooner when a rule changes, after an incident or survey finding, or when their services change. No single federal rule sets one review cycle for every home health or hospice policy, but federal rules set cycles for some subjects, and several states require a yearly review of key policies. Check your state's rules, then use the shortest cycle that applies to you.
What federal rules set
- Emergency preparedness: home health agencies and hospices review and update the emergency plan, its policies and procedures, the communication plan and the training and testing program at least every 2 years (42 CFR §484.102 and §418.113).
- Plans of care, which are not the same as policies: a home health plan of care is reviewed at least every 60 days (42 CFR §484.60(c)(1)), and a hospice plan of care at least every 15 calendar days (42 CFR §418.56(d)).
What state rules set
| State | What is reviewed | How often | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| California, home health | Patient care policies, by a group that includes a physician and a registered nurse | Every year | Cal. Health & Safety Code §1727.5(d) |
| Pennsylvania, home health | Core policies, by the group of professional personnel | Every year | 28 Pa. Code §601.22 |
| Georgia, home health | Key policies, by the group of professional personnel | Each year | Rule 111-8-31-.07(3) |
| Georgia, hospice | The disaster plan | Every year | Rule 111-8-37-.11 |
| Michigan, hospice | All policies, with the review dates on record | At least every 3 years | R 325.45123(2) |
| Michigan, hospice | Bereavement, social work, counseling and volunteer policies, by the administrator | At least every 24 months | R 325.45347(2) |
| Michigan, hospice | The emergency preparedness plan | Every year | R 325.45151(3) |
| Missouri, hospice | Emergency preparedness policies | At least once a year | 19 CSR 30-35.010(1)(J)2 |
| Texas, where Chapter 331 applies | The workplace violence prevention plan | Every year | Tex. Health & Safety Code §331.004 |
Texas's HCSSA rules set no general cycle for reviewing every policy. The Texas PAS manual sets a yearly review as the agency's own standard, which you can change. Each state's manual page lists the review rules that apply to that license: see the policy manuals by state.
When to update a policy between reviews
- A rule changes. For example, HHSC proposed a rewrite of Texas Chapter 558 in September 2026: once it is adopted, the policies it touches need review.
- A surveyor cites a deficiency, and your plan of correction changes how you work.
- An incident or complaint shows that a policy is not working, or is not being followed.
- You add a service, a location or a new kind of staff.
- Your administrator or governing body changes how something is done.
Keep a record of each review
Keep evidence that each review happened: the date, who reviewed the policy, what changed and who approved it. When a policy changes, have the staff it applies to read and sign the new version. In a Cura Core manual, each policy's Terms of Reference box shows its review cycle, which your agency sets, and its revision history records each change. Staff who signed an older version are asked to sign the new one. See how staff sign-off works.
Next step
Pick your state and license on the policy manuals by state page to see its manual and read three of its policies free.