Hospice care
ISSUE SUMMARY
Hospice is designed to provide pain relief, comfort, and emotional and spiritual support to patients with a terminal diagnosis. Physicians have a duty to their patients to provide them with appropriate end-of-life care, to see that care is provided in the most appropriate and cost-effective setting, to be knowledgeable of patient eligibility criteria for hospice benefits, and to make a referral to hospice based on their best clinical judgment. In recent years spending on hospice benefits, particularly in the Medicare program, has increased dramatically. As hospice costs have increased, physicians increasingly face pressure from patient’s families to certify patients for hospice benefits.
ADOPTED ACTION OR POLICY
KMS reaffirms its commitment to help educate member physicians about their clinical, legal and ethical responsibilities regarding the appropriate certification of patients for hospice care.
Adopted by the KMS House of Delegates on April 30, 2011.
