Category: Admission

Articles pertaining to hospice admissions including best practices and maintaining Medicare compliance

How to Identify End-Stage Parkinson’s for Hospice Admission

Parkinson's disease stages of progression
Identifying end-stage Parkinson's for hospice admission can be challenging. This article explores key criteria, including decline in function, weight loss, swallowing difficulties, and mobility issues. Learn how hospice professionals assess patients and utilize guidelines to ensure appropriate and timely hospice care for those with advanced Parkinson's disease.
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Admission Nurse: Essential Questions to Ask During the Hospice Admission Visit

Some Indicators For Hospice Eligibility
As a hospice admission nurse, asking the right questions is crucial for assessing patients' eligibility and providing compassionate care. This article explores critical questions to understand the patient's condition, decline timeline, hospitalizations, functional abilities, cognitive status, and comorbidities. By gathering this information, nurses can support informed decisions, tailor interventions, and ensure a "good death" for patients and families.
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Hospice Eligibility for Diverse Dementia Diagnoses

Differential Diagnosis for Dementia
Exploring Hospice Eligibility Criteria for Alzheimer's, Vascular, Lewy Body, Frontotemporal and other Dementias: Empowering Hospice Nurses to Provide Compassionate End-of-Life Care
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Post-Admission Visit in Hospice Care: What to Expect and Questions to Ask

If you or someone you love has a serious illness that cannot be cured, you may have heard of hospice care. Hospice care is a special kind that focuses on making the patient comfortable and peaceful in their final days. Hospice care also supports the family and caregivers emotionally and spiritually. When a patient joins hospice care, they will have a special meeting with a hospice nurse. This meeting is called the post-admission visit. It is an especially important visit because it will help the patient and the family get to know the hospice team and learn more about the care they will receive. This article will explain what to expect and what to ask during the post-admission visit. We will also provide tips and resources to help you and your loved one make the most of this time. We hope this article will help you feel more prepared and confident about the hospice journey.
Read MorePost-Admission Visit in Hospice Care: What to Expect and Questions to Ask

Educational Topics for Hospice Nurses During Admission and Post-Admission Visits

Discover essential educational topics for hospice nurses during admission and follow-up visits. Learn how to effectively communicate with patients and families, manage symptoms, provide emotional support, and navigate end-of-life care. Enhance your skills to deliver compassionate, comprehensive hospice care.
Read MoreEducational Topics for Hospice Nurses During Admission and Post-Admission Visits

Understanding Hospice Eval and Treat Orders

Provider Order To Eval And Treat For Hospice
In the world of healthcare, when a provider writes an order to "Eval and Treat" for hospice, they are asking for a thorough evaluation and a tailored treatment plan. This is specifically meant for patients who are being considered for hospice care. Let's delve into what this means and why it's crucial. What Does "Eval and Treat" for Hospice Mean?
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Understanding Hospice Eligibility for Terminally Ill Patients with Non-Alzheimer’s Dementia

Navigating hospice eligibility for non-Alzheimer's dementia patients demands a personalized approach. Unlike Alzheimer's, there's no definitive scale, necessitating assessments of functional decline, mobility, communication, incontinence, weight loss, overall condition, and comorbidities. Effective documentation, clinical judgment, and compassionate care are crucial for supporting these patients and families.
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Reviewing Hospice Eligibility

general hospice criteria
It’s essential to familiarize yourself with the key local coverage determination (LCD) facts for different terminal illnesses to avoid admitting patients who are not eligible for services only to be required to refund the money back to Medicare; otherwise, only have the patient on for one benefit period then discharged for failure to decline. These determinations provide guidelines on the coverage of hospice services for specific conditions. If you are the admitting nurse, please do not just admit because you were told to admit by someone, regardless of the position or standing of the person or party that told you to admit. Use your critical thinking and clinical judgment skills to evaluate the patient for admission. Most doctors will write "evaluate and treat" or something to that effect; never lose sight of the "evaluate" portion of the doctor's order. Based on the provided PDF files, as noted in the resources section below, let’s explore some essential information for each terminal illness.
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Understanding HIS Requirements for Medicare in Hospice Care

One crucial aspect for new hospice nurses to grasp is the Hospice Item Set (HIS) requirements. In this article, I’ll explain the HIS requirements for Medicare, providing you with a comprehensive understanding to ensure compliance and quality care delivery.
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Hospice Eligibility and Hospice Recertification — information for families and new hospice nurses

As an experienced hospice nurse, I understand how overwhelming and emotional it can be for terminally ill patients and their loved ones to navigate the hospice process. Hospice care is a compassionate and comprehensive approach to end-of-life care, designed to provide comfort, pain management, and emotional support to patients and their families. However, many people have questions about hospice eligibility and hospice recertification. In this article, I will provide a generalized guide to help you understand these important aspects of hospice care.
Read MoreHospice Eligibility and Hospice Recertification — information for families and new hospice nurses

What’s the process of getting your loved one on hospice service?

Hospice care focuses on providing comfort and quality of life for people with terminal illnesses and life expectancies of six months or less. While hospice care can be a difficult decision for families, it can also be a source of support and relief during a challenging time. In this article, we will explain the process of getting your loved one into hospice care and answer some common questions.
Read MoreWhat’s the process of getting your loved one on hospice service?

Tips for new hospice nurses doing an admission

If you are a new nurse to hospice, one of the tasks you probably dread is doing an admission especially if you have scheduled visits the same day as the admission. I would like to share with you some tips that when applied may help lower your stress level, and help you remain on time even in cases where you have three to four visits including recertification to do the same day.
Read MoreTips for new hospice nurses doing an admission

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