Determining the correct hospice care you or perhaps a family member requires at the end-of-life may appear just like a daunting task to take on during a currently difficult time. In a recently available blog describing hospice and palliative care, I’ve received many responses from readers who wish to know how to choose a hospice program that’s right for them. A number of these readers have shared their experiences with me on hospice care; some good, and others bad. I’ve compiled some suggestions from industry experts to help take the guesswork out of selecting a hospice what is hospice.
One of the first items to remember when beginning your search for hospice care is to appreciate hospices are first and foremost a small business, and while a well-intended business, they desire yours. Having said that, it`s crucial that you ask questions and get answers before committing to anything. Differences between hospices in many cases are hard to find out while they tend to offer similar services. While memberships in state hospice organizations and The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) may seem impressive, these are open to any hospice. What does matter is that a hospice is Medicare certified, as Medicare supplies 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 need your insurance. The Hospice Blog offers some very nice advice and tips that will help streamline the search process for you. First, find out who owns the hospice agency you’re considering, and what the owner`s background is. May be the hospice service nonprofit, for profit or government operated? The sort of ownership may influence the services a hospice patient receives. And speak to the administrator when contacting a hospice.
Let’s face it, the administrator gets 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 fits your requirements, make sure it’s the home office, rather than a branch. Generally, the nurse who resides at the house office has access to the person in charge. Branch offices tend not to have employees who make financial or business decisions. Finally, before selecting a hospice, discover where in actuality the on-call nurse lives. If the nurse lives far from the individual requiring hospice care, the response time will require longer.