Hospice Travel Agreement Template

„We hope their story inspires others to choose palliative care earlier so they can make the most of the time they have left,” says Sikkink. I once helped a family who wanted to spend a week on the beach with their son, who was a very young man. His condition required the use of a hospital bed with a veil to keep him safe while he slept. The travel hospice was able to provide the bed, but not the veil. So, in addition to the travel contract, I had to find an EMR provider willing to work with an out-of-state hospice. Luckily, I was able to find one, but since I was only a few hours away from the patient`s destination, the provider had to make sure the veil was brought into the apartment. This trip required a unique level of coordination and attention to detail, as well as unusual costs. In the end, however, this family created precious memories with their son and was very grateful for the efforts of everyone involved. This project taught me that with a little flexibility, you can achieve a family`s dreams while being a good steward of resources and minimizing risk to your organization. Fischetti, who had an estimated life expectancy of six months, was eager to visit her family in California while feeling quite well, and with the help of her daughter and palliative care team, planned an unforgettable nine-day trip there. In addition to the language required by the CoPs, the patient`s travel agreement should cover at least the following topics: With regard to point (g) above, if the home hospice knows that certain visits are to be made or that certain goods such as equipment must be provided, these must be specifically addressed in the agreement. Travel arrangements with patients must be signed, dated and retained in accordance with the hospice`s retention policies. The package of model palliative care contracts contains five models of palliative care contracts.

Templates are fully editable and include prompts for your agency to fill in the blanks to enter your agency`s specific information. Ordering the package saves $301 on the price of the individual order of the five. This set of five is available via an email link once the order is processed (usually about 24 business hours). Want to know more about coordinating patients` travel arrangements? Members of the Teleios collaborative network have access to contract templates and other resources that can help your hospice take its patient travel processes to the next level. We are also happy to be a resource for you. Home Health & Hospice quickly worked to find a palliative care agency willing to help Fischetti if needed, including after-work care. Medicare Hospice`s terms and conditions (the „CoPs”) allow hospices to enter into contracts with other providers for services related to the patient`s terminal diagnosis. [1] In addition, CoPs allow hospices to use basic services during a patient`s temporary travel outside the hospice`s service area. [2] This is done through a contract between the home hospice and the travel hospice for the provision of services to the patient, if necessary. It is up to the individual hospice to weigh the consequences of longer travel times and communicate them to the patient and family. If the patient expects to be outside the service area at the time of the full reassessment visit, which must take place at least every 15 days[3], the home hospice must require the mobile hospice to conduct the reassessment visit.

In addition, the home hospice must check whether the patient needs routine nursing or attendant visits to meet the needs and frequency of visits according to the care plan. These decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the specific conditions and needs of the patient. „What appealed to her at the hospice in general was having someone she could call if something was going to change and avoid having to rush to the emergency room,” says Billie Anderson, the social worker who helped facilitate Fischetti`s contractual travel arrangements. „It allowed us to see if we could help them achieve their goal of continuing their journey, and their goal of having palliative care there as well, and maybe we`re co-managing their care remotely.” She never needed the care of the other hospice, but appreciated the safety net the arrangement offered her. The Patient`s Interdisciplinary Group (the „IAG”) is responsible for updating the patient`s care plan to reflect the patient`s needs and desires regarding the patient`s next journey. The patient`s attending physician, if any, should be notified and any need for routine visits, medications, equipment and supplies during the trip should be anticipated and planned. The IDG should encourage the patient to take their living will, medication and supplies with them during the trip and to continue to call the hospice at home for all their needs during the trip. So far, I have discussed the technical aspects of patient travel – care coordination, policies, contracts, etc. However, it is also an art to work within these technical safeguards to improve the patient experience.

As someone who has been developing travel arrangements for patients for years, one of the best tips I can give is this: Find ways to make these arrangements work. There will be times when we hear about a patient at the last minute – sometimes even after they arrive at their destination! – that they take a trip. There will be times when a family travels across states and will need travel contracts for each city they wish to stay in. It`s a lot of work, but they can also be some of the most rewarding challenges we face. Palliative care contract templates are editable templates with prompts that can be customized with your agency`s specific information. Order individual models or the entire package, collapsed as a set. To prepare patients and families for success, the patient manual and other guidelines should inform the hospice of travel plans in a timely manner. These documents must indicate that when the patient travels, the patient must take his or her instructions, medications and supplies with him or her during the trip. They should also ask patients and families to continue to call the hospice for all travel needs. Since overland travel is not typical for palliative care patients, those who have made similar efforts have generally been released from palliative care until they return to the area. Fischetti`s request led to a different approach – a travel contract. The hospice should have policies, procedures and/or best practices that outline processes for travellers.

These should at least affect the coordination of care and contracts and delineate the staff responsible for the associated tasks. The model palliative care contract for durable medical devices is aimed at hospices that enter into contracts with EMR companies for the supply of medical devices. This template is fully editable and includes requests to your agency to fill in gaps in order to enter your agency`s specific information. The articles covered include: „It was such a comfort to know that if something happened to me while I was there, I had a hospice to lean on and they were there for me. It gave me a sense of security in case something happened. It was like someone was there to catch you when you tripped,” Fischetti says. Kelly Sikkink, Assistant Administrator of Home Health & Hospice, congratulates Fischetti for joining the palliative care program early enough to take advantage of these options and show how patients can enjoy life to the fullest. She notes that her request has expedited the development of a model travel contract for all affiliated Mayo palliative care programs. „I wanted to say goodbye to my brother and his family and spend more time with my son,” she says.

1. 42 C.F.R.§418.100(e)2. 42 C.F.R. §418.643. 42 C.F.R. § 418.54 (d) Individual Palliative Care Contract Templates: Choose from the following 5 templates: The Palliative Care Contract Template Package is a set of five and includes: Your doctor ordered a mammogram and ultrasound, and through these tests, Fischetti learned that she had fourth-stage lung cancer and a cancerous mass in her breast. „I can`t congratulate her enough,” she says. „They were just awesome.” Fischetti, a mother of five, grandmother and now great-grandmother, discovered a big lump in her chest in December…