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Understanding the Role of the Attending Physician
Hospice wants to help you. Hospice does not want to replace you. When you refer a patient to Hospice, you will maintain the role of attending physician. You have established a relationship of trust with the patient and family, and the family will look to you for reassurance that their loved one is continuing to receive the best care possible. You will be asked to review the patient's plan of care, review and/or amend the Hospice standing orders, sign the DNR status, receive updated plans of care, and participate in telephone consultations with Hospice staff. In exchange, an entire team of professionals who are experienced in managing physical, social, emotional, and spiritual pain will care for your patient. For example, a telephone triage team is available for your patient's emergency needs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can rest easy in the knowledge that the triage team will expertly assess your patient's symptoms and dispatch assistance as required. The hospice team is not complete without you. We look forward to working with local physicians to partner with us in providing comfort and compassion to the terminally ill of Southwest Michigan. Managing the Myths < BACK
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If your practice is like that of many others, just 20% of your patients can account for an entire 80% of your available time and resources. Controlling the pain, managing other symptoms, and supporting the family of a terminally ill patient can be quite daunting.