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Are You A Physician Or Healthcare Professional?
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Click here to watch the Partners In Care training video for staff in long term care facilities |
It’s an important transition for you and your patient.
We’ll help make it comfortable and clear.
Hospice of the Red River Valley treats the person; not the disease, and emphasizes quality of life; not the duration. We work alongside you toward the shared goal of providing compassionate care and support to both the patient and family during end-of-life situations.
Hospice Care for Your Patient—3 Steps
- Contact the Hospice office nearest you or call 800-237-4629.
- Provide the patient's diagnosis, prognosis and needs.
- We’ll schedule a visit with the patient and/or family.
CONSULTATIONS ARE FREE OF CHARGE
When is it time to talk to your patient about Hospice?
Early in the diagnosis. This gives the patient and family time to evaluate all their options as the illness progresses.
How do I initiate a conversation about hospice care?
Beginning a conversation about hospice care can be difficult. Click here for examples on how to initiate conversations with your residents, patients or their family members.
When is it time to refer?
- When, in your best judgment, the patient has a life expectancy of six months or less
- When the focus of treatment shifts to comfort care
- When there is a history of frequent, multiple hospitalizations or emergency room visits
- When the patient's pain and symptoms require close monitoring
- When the patient and family need additional physical and/or emotional support
- Alzheimer's
- Dementia
- Cardiovascular disease
- Cerebrovascular disease
- Cancer
- Neurological disorders
- ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease)
- Multiple sclerosis
- Parkinson's
- Muscular dystrophy
- AIDS
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Pulmonary fibrosis (emphysema)
- Liver disease
- Debility unspecified (failure to thrive)
- Other illnesses
- All medications related to the terminal illness
- All equipment and supplies
- Staff nurse and personal care nurse visits
- Social work services
- Chaplain visits
- Lab work
- Treatments, such as palliative radiation
- Primary physician are paid 80% of the Medicare allowable
- Consulting physician, or those seeing the patient in the primary physician's absence, are paid 100% of the Medicare allowable, if the claim is billed through Hospice of the Red River Valley
Both the family and patient benefit most when we integrate the full range of services. This is best accomplished when the Hospice team has weeks or months, rather than days, to assess and address their needs.
What illnesses are eligible?
Any patient who has an illness that has become end-stage may receive Hospice care. This includes, but is not limited to:
How will you keep me involved?
While your patient is in Hospice care, you remain the primary physician and provide leadership within the team of caregivers along with our medical director. We’ll keep you as informed as you like. We often call in with updates or to request order changes. If at any time you do not feel you have enough information, please let us know.
Do you provide 24-hour coverage for crisis intervention and medical emergencies?
Yes. Hospice nurses are on call 24 hours a day to address concerns or emergencies. Medicare has outlined specific criteria which must be met in order for continuous concentrated care to be implemented. Symptoms must be out of control, and often patients are not eligible until the last few days of their lives. Such care includes a Hospice concentrated care nurse at the bedside in blocks of time totaling at least eight hours per day.
Who pays for the medications I order for my patient?
Under the Medicare Hospice Benefit, Hospice of the Red River Valley pays for the medications related to terminal illness. Medications for pre-existing medical conditions are not covered. Private insurance companies may have different drug benefits for Hospice patients.
How do you get reimbursed for the medications and equipment I order for my patient?
Medicare pays Hospice a daily per diem rate. From that rate, Hospice pays:
Will I get reimbursed for my Hospice patients’ visits?
Yes. We just need to know that the patient is seeing you, either in your clinic, at the nursing home, or in the hospital, to make sure the claim is billed correctly.
Do you have access to modern equipment, such as home IV infusion pumps?
Yes. We contract with local equipment suppliers for IV infusion options such as the CADD, a small, portable pump with a patient controlled analgesia option. This option is valuable when pain or symptoms become difficult to manage with other routes. Our nurses make this system as efficient and comfortable as possible for the patient and family.
Can my hospitalized patient have immediate Hospice care if he/she will be discharged to the nursing home?
Medicare requires a patient to choose Medicare payment for either the care in the nursing home or for Hospice care. Patients and families do have a choice, but financial necessity may determine that choice. The Medicaid system allows Hospice care to begin immediately, as they pay for room and board and then allow Hospice to bill Medicare. If Medicaid is the only payment source, Hospice care can begin immediately.
What is GIP and what do I have to do for my patient?
GIP, or General Inpatient Care, is a hospitalization which becomes necessary when the care cannot be managed by the patient and caregivers at home, or when a hospitalized patient would benefit from additional support, is symptomatic and/or imminently dying. This acute level of care stay is covered under the Medicare Hospice Benefit.
Why are certain medications put in my patient's home when there’s not an immediate need?
Emergencies often arise during the night and on weekends. It’s distressing for patients and families to wait for medication to be ordered, filled, picked up and finally administered—especially when your patient is in crisis. Thus, we provide the family with an emergency kit from medications on our standing orders. It includes small amounts of medications for symptom management. The nurse who comes to the home can then promptly deal with the symptoms of the patient.
