agency (redirected from agencies)

agency

Etymology: L, agere, to do

1 (in law) a relationship between two parties in which one authorizes the other to act on his or her behalf as agent. It usually implies a contractual arrangement between two parties managed by a third party, the agent.

2 the business of any power or firm empowered to act for another.

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agency [a´jen-se]

an organization that performs actions for other people, particularly of a service nature.

home health agency a public agency or private organization that is primarily engaged in providing skilled or paraprofessional home health care to individuals in out-of-hospital settings, such as private homes, boarding homes, hospices, shelters, and so on. Its policies must be established and supervised by professional personnel, including one or more physicians and one or more registered nurses. It must maintain clinical records on all patients. In states with laws licensing such agencies, it must be licensed pursuant to such laws and approved as meeting the standards established for such licensing. It must also meet certain other requirements as specified in the Social Security Act, section 1861 (o).