PCA qualified professional

What is a qualified professional (QP)?
Qualified professionals supervise PCA services. Your qualified professional works for your PCA provider agency. Qualified professionals may be:
- Registered nurses
- Licensed social workers
- Mental health professionals
- Qualified developmental disabilities specialists.
If your PCA is performing health-related tasks, your qualified professional must be a registered nurse.
What does the qualified professional do?
- Develop your care plan (traditional PCA, PCA Choice by request)
- Develop and oversee your month-by-month plan (traditional PCA, PCA Choice by request)
- Train, orient and evaluate new PCAs (traditional PCA, PCA Choice by request)
- Supervise 16- and 17-year old PCAs
- Train PCAs who assist with tracheostomy suctioning and people using ventilators
- Oversee the delivery of PCA services
- Ensure your health and safety needs are met
- Document changes in condition and request reassessments.
Why do I need a qualified professional?
To help ensure:
- The quality of PCA services
- That your health and safety are protected.
PCA services are funded by state and federal taxes and supervision helps:
- Prevent and identify fraud
- Provide greater accountability for the use of public funds.
How often does the qualified professional visit?
Traditional PCA

If you are getting traditional PCA services, the qualified professional will visit your home:
- Within the first seven days to orient and train new, regularly scheduled PCAs (these first two visits may be combined)
- Within the first 14 days to evaluate new PCAs (these first two visits may be combined)
- Every 60 days to evaluate 16 and 17-year-old PCAs
- Every 90 days to oversee the delivery of PCA services, during the first year of service
- Every 120 days to oversee the delivery of PCA services, after the first year of service
- Every 180 days, at the shared services site, if you are using shared services.
PCA Choice

If you are using the PCA Choice option the QP will visit your home:
- Every 180 days
- Every sixty days to evaluate 16 and 17 year old PCAs
- Every 180 days, at the shared services site, if you are using shared services.
After 180 days of service, the qualified professional may alternate face-to-face visits with telephone or web visits with you and your responsible party to oversee the delivery of PCA services.

For more information, see Qualified Professional Activities and Timelines DHS-4691 (PDF).