Hospice:
Keep New COPs In Mind When Educating Referral Sources About Hospice
Published on Fri Feb 27, 2009
Be sure you know what to do -- and avoid. Stepping up to the plate to teach nursing home staff and other providers about hospice can be great for patients, but make sure you follow a few key dos and don’ts. For one, keep in mind that if your hospice isn’t providing education in some cases, you’re out of compliance. When a hospice has a contract with a nursing home, the updated Conditions of Participa-tion require the hospice to provide nursing home staff training and hospice orientation, says attorney Meg S. L. Pekarske with Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren in Madison, Wis. “In the period of change due to the new CoPs -- which stress coordination and communication between hospice and nursing homes -- hospices have to take the lead in educating nursing homes about the new expectations,” emphasizes Beth Carpenter of Beth Carpenter and Associates in Lake Barrington, Ill. But the training should [...]