Determining the appropriate hospice care you or a loved one requires at the end-of-life may seem such as a daunting task to take on during a currently difficult time. In a recent blog describing hospice and palliative care, I’ve received many responses from readers who would like to learn how to pick a hospice program that is right for them. Many of these readers have shared their experiences with me on hospice care; good quality, and others bad. I have compiled some suggestions from industry experts to help take the guesswork out of choosing a hospice hospice care.
One of the first items to remember when beginning your search for hospice care is to realize hospices are first and foremost a business, and while a well-intended business, they want yours. That said, it`s important to ask questions and get answers before committing to anything. Differences between hospices are often hard to find out because they tend to offer similar services. While memberships in state hospice organizations and The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) may seem impressive, they are open to any hospice. What does matter is that the hospice is Medicare certified, as Medicare offers the baseline requirements for quality care.
To qualify for Medicare certification, hospices must offer 16 separate core and auxiliary services. Core services include bereavement counseling, nutritional services and doctor services. Continuous home care, physical therapy, medication administration and household services are samples of auxiliary services. Also important is whether a hospice will accept your insurance. The Hospice Blog offers some very nice advice and tips that can help streamline the search process for you. First, find out who owns the hospice agency you are considering, and what the owner`s background is. May be the hospice service nonprofit, for profit or government operated? The kind of ownership may influence the services a hospice patient receives. And communicate with the administrator when contacting a hospice.
Let’s face it, the administrator has got the authority to state yes or no to anything the hospice office assistant or hospice employer has promised you. When you have found a hospice that meets your preferences, make sure it is your home office, rather than branch. Generally, the nurse who resides at your home office has use of anyone in charge. Branch offices usually do not have employees who make financial or business decisions. Finally, before choosing a hospice, discover where in fact the on-call nurse lives. If the nurse lives far away from the individual requiring hospice care, the response time will require longer.