Many people at the end-of-life are being referred to hospice
care too late or not at all. National Hospice Foundation research on
end-of-life care found that Americans:
Are more willing to talk about safe sex and drugs with their children
than to discuss end-of-life issues with their terminally ill parents.
Only 24% of Americans put into writing how they want to be cared
for at the end-of-life and 19%, have not thought about end-of-life
care at all, while 16% have thought about it, but not told anyone their
wishes.
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) estimate
that for every one hospice patient, there are two more who could benefit
from hospice services even though the Medicare Hospice Benefit guarantees
comprehensive high-quality end-of-life care – at little or no
cost – to America’s terminally ill Medicare beneficiaries
and their families.
This module will discuss eligibility criteria, disease specific admission
criteria, Medicare reimbursement, and death pronouncement for patients
who have hospice support for end-of-life care in their home.
After completing this module you will be able to:
Identify and support patient preference for care in the home
at the end of life.
Discuss admission criteria to home hospice for common diagnoses.
State advantages of the home hospice benefit under Medicare.
Demonstrate the ability to find a home hospice via the Internet
anywhere in the country.
Describe the rules for reimbursement for home visits under Medicare.
Describe the rules regarding death pronouncement, coroner and funeral
home notification for patients dying at home.
Find key reference sources both on the Internet and in print for
palliative care.
