What does the Hospice admission process involve?
One of the first things Advocate Hospice program will do is contact the patient’s physician to make sure that he or she agrees that hospice care is appropriate for this patient at any time. (Most hospices have medical staff available to help patients who have no physician.) Then one of our Liaisons will meet with the patient and family to explain how hospice care works and insurance coverage – which is typically 100% of services related to the hospice diagnosis. The patient will be asked to sign consent and insurance forms. These are similar to the forms patients sign when they enter a hospital. The so-called “hospice election form” says that the patient understands that the care is palliative (that is, aimed at pain relief and symptom control rather than curative. It also outlines the services available. The form Medicare patients sign also tells how electing the Medicare hospice benefit affects other Medicare coverage. A friend’s mother is in the final stages of Alzheimer’s and recei
Hospice will first contact the patient’s physician to make sure he or she agrees that Hospice care is appropriate for this patient at this time. Then a Hospice nurse or social worker will visit the patient and family. The patient will be asked to sign consent and insurance forms. These are similar to the forms patients sign when they enter a hospital. The Hospice Informed Consent says that the patient understands that care is palliative ~ aimed at pain relief and symptom control ~ rather than curative. Services available will be described. The election form Medicare patients sign also tells how electing the Medicare Hospice benefit affects other Medicare coverage for terminal illness.
One of the first things the hospice program will do is contact the patient’s physician to make sure he or she agrees that hospice care is appropriate for this patient at this time. (Most hospices have medical staff available to help patients who have no physician.) The patient will be asked to sign consent and insurance forms. These are similar to the forms patients sign when they enter a hospital. The so-called “hospice election form” says that the patient understands that the care is palliative (that is, aimed at pain relief and symptom control) rather than curative. It also outlines the services available. The form Medicare patients sign also tells how electing the Medicare hospice benefit affects other Medicare coverage.
One of the first things the hospice program will do is contact the patients physician to make sure he or she agrees that hospice care is appropriate for this patient at this time. (Most hospices have medical staff available to help patients who have no physician.) The patient will be asked to sign consent and insurance forms. These are similar to the forms patients sign when they enter a hospital. The so-called hospice election form says that the patient understands that the care is palliative (that is, aimed at pain relief and symptom control) rather than curative. It also outlines the services available. The form Medicare patients sign also tells how electing the Medicare hospice benefit affects other Medicare coverage.
One of the first things hospice will do is contact the patient’s physician to make sure he or she agrees that hospice care is appropriate for the patient at this time. The hospice care goals and available services will be reviewed carefully with the patient and caregivers to make sure they are understood. The patient will be asked to sign consent and insurance forms similar to those signed when entering a hospital.
