Providers
Hospice care is designed to support patients with serious, life limiting illnesses at home or wherever they’re receiving ongoing care. Admission is approved by our attending hospice physician, who oversees patients’ hospice care teams and re-certifies patients for continued hospice care. Our physicians work with patients and their families to design an individualized plan of care based on their goals, which typically include reducing pain, dyspnea, emotional distress, and other symptoms related to their condition.
When To Make A Referral
It may be time to consider a hospice referral if your patient has a life-limiting illness (advanced disease without effective, curative therapies) along with one or more of the following:
- A decline in function
- Unintentional weight loss
- Difficulty controlling physical or psychological symptoms
- Complex long-term care needs
- Multiple hospital or ER admissions within the past few months
While physicians and patients both tend to seek hospice care only when death is imminent, patients and families both benefit when they’re referred earlier in their disease’s progression. This early contact provides more time to process their end-of-life options and receive all the support available from the hospice team. For more information, take a look at our general admission guidelines and the various levels of hospice care.
How To Make A Referral
To make a referral for a patient, fill out this form.
The Role Of The Attending Physician Or Provider
Referring a patient to hospice does not mean the end of your relationship with them. At the time of their admission, hospice patients choose an attending provider who they would like to have the most significant role in determining their medical care. That could be an existing provider like you or a Mount Carmel Hospice provider. In many cases, patients choose to keep their personal provider as attending while also asking the hospice provider team to provide expert around-the-clock symptom management. We’re happy to honor our patients’ wishes and your role as their attending physician if they choose.
What the Hospice Team Will Do
As your patients’ hospice care team, it’s our job to:
- Educate patients and families about the services hospice will provide.
- Collaborate with physicians at the time of discharge about prescriptions, orders, and patient needs.
- Arrange infusion services, if needed.
- Assess equipment needs and facilitate delivery.
- Develop a home care plan with interdisciplinary team input.
