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Physician Referrals to Hospice

WHEN TO REFER - FOR PHYSICIANS
A Physician’s ongoing relationship with his/her patient provides many opportunities to introduce hospice as an option in the continuum of care. In fact, the less urgent the occasion, the greater the opportunity for discussion. And identifying the full benefits of hospice sheds a positive light on a poor prognosis so that physicians never have to feel like they are abandoning their patient.

Opportunities for such discussions with patients may be:

  • Describing the general philosophy of hospice care
  • Presenting a continuum of care after a life-threatening diagnosis
  • Distributing patient education materials
  • Addressing grief among family members.
Suggestion for describing the general philosophy of care:
“In our practice, we believe that patient comfort and quality of life are as important as curing a disease or prolonging life.

When curative treatments no longer have the desired effect, we have fund that hospice care is a good option because it offers patients an opportunity to stay at home and to make personal decisions abut how to spend the time that remains.

Suggestions for presenting a continuum of care after a life-threatening diagnosis:
“We have a number of options to choose from. Chemotherapy may eradicate the cancer, so you might want to start there. Next we could try….…You should also know about hospice, which cares for people at home if treatments don’t help.”

Utilizing the Full Potential of Hospice Care
Patients are sometimes referred to hospice too late or not at all because discussing end-of-lif care is difficult.

Barriers to hospice referrals include:
  • Discomfort with death and grief
  • Sense of failure abut inability to cure
  • Hesitation about prognosis
  • Perception that hospice is a last resort
  • Concerns that patients will feel abandoned
  • Uncertainty about hospice clinical services
  • Financial concerns
  • Doubt that hospice offers hope
If our Hospice Staff can ever assist in alleviating some of the difficulty of discussing hospice care, please call us. Our Medical Director and Community Outreach Clinicians can come to you for consult.

Hospice Care is not just for Cancer Patients
Although most hospice care is provided to cancer patients, hospice is also for patients with other diseases in their final stages. For more information on diagnostic criteria for hospice referrals, contact Genesys Home & Hospice Care at (810) 762-4600.

 

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