The following Rules of Etiquette apply to all posts on the HCAFeForum.

Statute/Regulatory Guideance

HCAFeFORUM strives to provide accurate information to members, and this is particularly important as it relates to state and federal statutes and regulations. As such, when offering regulatory guidance on the forum, the poster must cite relevant statutes or regulations that supports the guidance provided. Conjecture and opinions are not relevant when it pertains to regulatory guidance.

Quick Replies

Responding to a post with “Thank you” or “me too” is not appropriate. The content should be substantive and related to our industry. Even if you thought of a really witty return, unless it enhances the discussion, keep it to yourself.

Promotional

Companies are strictly prohibited from posting promotional / company information – we must avoid turning the list-serve into an advertising forum. HCAF prohibits any individual or organization from promoting a specific product or a service for proprietary purposes.  We will not tolerate any attempts to raise company awareness under the guise of informative text, and senders risk list-serve subscription removal by submitting such material.

Humor

Not that we don’t have a sense of humor in home care (in fact, quite the opposite), please refrain from forwarding jokes, novelty site links, and the like.. while it’s fun to pass around to friends & family, it’s just not appropriate on our list-serve forum.

RSVPs

Sometimes event notices are circulated. Generally, if you are trying to reserve a seat to a special event, there is another appropriate method of doing so – it’s unlikely that your RSVP should be received by everyone. Please direct your communication to the appropriate person or through the appropriate avenue.

Job Placement

Sharing job seeker or job opportunity details is not appropriate on the HCAFeForum. Our Career Center has been established for such material and is accessible at www.homecarefla.org/jobs.

Opinions

Expressions and opinions published to the HCAFeFORUM are very public – therefore, if you have an opinion that might be, shall we say, somewhat uncomplimentary to another person or business, we recommend that you refrain from publishing that information on this list-serve. Instead, ask fellow subscribers to email you directly or call you. (You can certainly share facts, even if they are not friendly to someone – We wish to foster an exchange of fact-based, non-judgmental information).

As a rule of thumb – ask yourself if you want several hundreds of people reading your message before you hit SEND.  Please use good sense and preserve the usefulness of this great home care resource.  HCAF staff reserves the right to remove any subscriber not complying with the HCAFeForum Rules of Etiquette.

Salary Information & Antitrust

Members may not share or discuss salary information as this is in direct violation of Federal Trade Commission antitrust laws. Sharing or discussing salary among competing providers may, according to the FTC, "facilitate collusion or otherwise reduce competition on prices or compensation, resulting in increased prices, or reduced quality and availability of health care services. A collusive restriction on the compensation paid to health care employees, for example, could adversely affect the availability of health care personnel.”  However, HCAF publishes an annual salary and benefits survey made up of statistics provided by home health agencies in Florida.  This survey is permitted under FTC rules and is available for purchase in the HCAF Store.

Revised 9/8/14