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Guidelines for Hospice Admission
The objectives of Hospice admissions include:
- Physical care and relief of pain and other symptoms without excessive mental or physical incapacitation.
- Ongoing and emotional support of the patient and family caregiver(s).
- Support of a patient's participation as an active family member by enabling patients to remain at home and by offering services to accommodate family relationships.
Hospice patients must meet the following criteria for admission:
- Terminal condition is due to a specific disease or a combination of diseases.
- A prognosis that can be spoken of in terms of “months.”
- Patient and/or family have elected a course of palliative care.
- Patient and/or family agree not to treat terminal illness aggressively.
In addition to meeting other disease specific criteria, Hospice patients may also exhibit the following in the past two to three months:
- Decline/Decrease in Activities of Daily Living (ADL).
- Weight loss or decreased appetite.
- Decline/decrease in cognitive abilities.
- Observable changes in condition.
- Lack of response to treatment and worsening of symptoms of a chronic underlying disease.
Your Patient's Treatment Regimen:
- Is your patient unresponsive to curative therapies and treatment?
- Will the continuation of curative therapies and treatment increase your patient's suffering and discomfort?
- Will the continuation of curative therapies and treatment provide a positive change in your patient's medical condition?
- Will your patient need only episodic inpatient care?
- Could palliative care enhance your patient's comfort and well-being by controlling distressing and debilitating physical and emotional symptoms?
- Does your patient need both skilled palliative care and emotional support?
- Does your patient's family need support to provide care for your patient?
Financial Benefits of Hospice
- Your patient and family are covered by a comprehensive hospice benefit.
- Medicare and Medicaid provide comprehensive hospice coverage.
- Most private insurers who operate in the State of New Jersey include a hospice benefit in their policies.
- New Jersey Hospice covers anyone who falls through the cracks. Uninsured patients without financial means are provided comprehensive hospice services without discrimination and at no cost to your patient or family.
- Your patient's hospice benefit provides for all medical supplies, durable medical equipment, medications, and appropriate therapies related to the terminal condition.
- There are NO co-payments, deductibles, or exclusions.
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