Hospice Medical Director

Position Summary:

The hospice Medical Director will have overall responsibility for the medical component of the hospice program. They will provide oversight of physician services by complementing attending physician care, acting as a medical resource to the interdisciplinary group, assuring continuity of hospice medical services, and assuring appropriate measures to control patient symptoms. The Medical Director will serve as a hospice champion - promoting and representing the program to physicians, physician groups, discharge planners, other referral sources, community health organizations, and potential donors, as appropriate.

Essential Job Functions/Responsibilities:

Devoting their best ability to the proper management of the program.

Adhering to requirements, terms, and conditions required by Medicare Conditions of Participation, accrediting body, and federal and state statutes governing the provision of services.

Providing overall medical direction to the program.

Assuring the established policies, bylaws, rules, and regulations of the organization are followed in the program.

Establishing and continually reviewing policies and procedures related to patient care, medical education, and emergency procedures.

Developing and continually reviewing, in cooperation with the CEO/DPCS/CCO, criteria to monitor the quality of the education programs provided to physicians, personnel, and volunteers.

Evaluating QAPI plans and monitoring to identify medical education needs. Participates in QAPI teams and activities as needed.

Proposing organizational programs to address the needs identified (with the assistance and input of consultants of the specialties where medical education needs were identified.)

Working with leadership after implementation of the programs to determine the programs' impacts on quality of care.

Acting as a medical liaison with other physicians at Advanced Hospice.

Acting as a liaison to community physicians by providing consultation and education to colleagues and attending physicians related to admission criteria for hospice and palliative care.

Providing training regarding the medical aspects of caring for terminally ill patients to physicians, personnel, and volunteers.

Reviewing patient medical eligibility for hospice services, in accordance with hospice program policies and procedures, and establishing a Plan of Care in conjunction with attending physician and interdisciplinary group prior to providing care written certification of terminal illness.

Perform face-to-face encounters within thirty (30) days of the third and subsequent hospice benefit certification periods and attest to the encounter. (NP may complete the encounter and report findings to the hospice physician.)

Providing written certification of the terminal illness for all subsequent benefit periods.

Consulting with attending physicians regarding pain and symptoms management for hospice patients.

Managing oversight of the patient's medications and treatments.

Documenting care provided in the patient's clinical record, providing evidence of progression of the end-stage disease process.

In conjunction with the attending physician and interdisciplinary group, reviewing and updating the plan of care at least every 15 days, or more frequently if needed.

Reviewing and developing protocols for treatment, and proposing the most current options for interventions.

Other duties as needed.

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

1. Licensed as a Doctor of Medicine or Osteopathy in the state without restriction or subject to any disciplinary or corrective action.

2.Maintains controlled substances registration with state and federal authorities. 3.Have experience in hospice or palliative care and/or training in end of life care.

4.Participates in ongoing medical education activities related to the medical care of hospice and palliative care patients.5.Not excluded from participating in the Medicare program.