What does the Legacy admission process involve?
One of the first things Legacy 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. (Legacy has 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 “hospice election form” states that the patient understands that the care is palliative (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.
