Determining the right hospice care you or perhaps a loved one requires at the end-of-life may appear like a daunting task to battle during an already difficult time. In a recent blog describing hospice and palliative care, I’ve received many responses from readers who want to know how to choose a hospice program that is right for them. Many of these readers have shared their experiences with me on hospice care; the right, and others bad. I have compiled some tips from industry experts to simply help take the guesswork out of choosing a hospice hospice care provider.
Among the first what 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. Nevertheless, it`s crucial that you ask questions and get answers before committing to anything. Differences between hospices tend to be hard to find out as they tend to supply similar services. While memberships in state hospice organizations and The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) may appear impressive, they’re open to any hospice. What does matter is a 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 typical examples of auxiliary services. Also important is whether a hospice will accept your insurance. The Hospice Blog offers some good advice and tips that can help streamline the search process for you. First, discover who owns the hospice agency you’re considering, and what the owner`s background is. Could be the hospice service nonprofit, for profit or government operated? The kind of ownership may influence the services a hospice patient receives. And keep in touch with the administrator when contacting a hospice.
Let’s face it, the administrator has the authority to express yes or no to anything the hospice office assistant or hospice employer has promised you. When you have found a hospice that fits your preferences, make sure it’s the home office, rather than branch. Generally, the nurse who resides at the house office has use of anyone in charge. Branch offices will not have employees who make financial or business decisions. Finally, before choosing a hospice, find out where in fact the on-call nurse lives. If the nurse lives far far from the individual requiring hospice care, the response time will take longer.