Comments on Hospice Blog: Continuous Care Issues

Very sensitive post and i like it.Keep writing suc...

2010-04-22T03:15:17.209-07:00

Very sensitive post and i like it.Keep writing such articles so that issues like this can be discussed on such portal.Thank you.........

My grandmother was under hospice care three years ...

2010-02-03T14:26:12.283-08:00

My grandmother was under hospice care three years ago and the caregiver made similar errors in medication administration. It is easy to get infuriated, however, we are all human and make mistakes.

I too feel that your hospice provider didn't e...

2009-08-06T07:54:26.282-07:00

I too feel that your hospice provider didn't explain things as thoroughly as they should have. That being said, my agency always leaves everything is writing to help combat the lack of retention many families have due to their grief reactions. They can go back and review the info when they have questions or can't remember what was told to them. I have also seen ICC being used

Does anyone know how I can find out how many hospi...

2009-07-30T17:52:11.807-07:00

Does anyone know how I can find out how many hospice are for profit and how many non profit?

I am new to this and would like to know when a hos...

2009-03-31T16:31:00.000-07:00

I am new to this and would like to know when a hospice provider has to provide CC and for how long do they have to continue the CC.

Diana

Allen-As someone who used to work for that particu...

2009-03-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

Allen-As someone who used to work for that particular hospice, I can tell you that it CERTAINLY could be that particular hospice!
In our area, that hospice DOES HAVE a dedicated CC team-in fact, when they were "slow," they leaned on the marketing department to make sure the CC program was being properly "educated" to the referral sources so that the team was being utilized.
In fact, that

It wouldn't be that hospice, susy - that hospice m...

2009-03-18T17:23:00.000-07:00

It wouldn't be that hospice, susy - that hospice may offer it but rarely followed through on "CTC" - they just didn't staff for it. There are any number of other hospices it could have been, including a couple very large ones that really push CC as a revenue source.

Is this the same hospice that just settled the 24....

2009-03-12T17:30:00.001-07:00

Is this the same hospice that just settled the 24.7 million dollar whistleblower suit??? It sure sounds like something they would promise (and I can say this because I did clean up for the marketers in this company).
This company was NOTORIOUS FOR PROMISING THINGS LIKE THIS IN THE MIDWEST

Hospice care differs tremendously from one hospice...

2009-03-05T06:31:00.000-08:00

Hospice care differs tremendously from one hospice to the next. Years ago, I was hired as an admissions RN for a hospice, and I had been on the job for 4 months before I even heard that continuous care was an option for hospice patients. Go figure!

Oh boy. I would like to think the Hospice was well...

2009-02-23T15:46:00.000-08:00

Oh boy. I would like to think the Hospice was well meaning, wanting your father to be at home, comfortable, surrounded by his family.

I would like to think there were some kind of symptoms that warranted the CC benefit.

I would like to think that someone was very clear that CC is only ever intended to be a short term intervention (in my experience, 1-2 days at most) until the

These kinds of stories break my heart, because I s...

2009-02-19T20:42:00.000-08:00

These kinds of stories break my heart, because I see it as an agency trying to take advantage of someone who is perhaps at the most vulnerable time in their life. There's just no excuse for this. If there is truly a need for CHC, then provide it, but this sounds like the need was more for daily living tasks.

I am in Illinois, and the agency I work for is extremely judicious in its use

I agree with Christopher and the Hospice Guy with ...

2009-02-19T20:08:00.000-08:00

I agree with Christopher and the Hospice Guy with respect to the use of continuous care. I can't believe folks think a "medical crisis" is "often provided to help when a patient first comes home for the hosptial to get them stabilzied." That is a complete misuse of the CC portion of the Medicare Benefit and one of the reasons the Benefit is in question with MedPAC and I believe these hospices

I am sorry for what you have experienced Karen. I ...

2009-02-19T18:56:00.000-08:00

I am sorry for what you have experienced Karen. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker practicing in California. I work in the home hospice division of a large not for profit HMO. I agree with HG on his analysis of your experience and I am gratified to see an administer be so honest and straight forward.

The continuous care part of the hospice benefit is meant to help stabilize a patient

Having been in hospice for only 4 years, I am alre...

2009-02-17T13:52:00.000-08:00

Having been in hospice for only 4 years, I am already tired of seeing the CHC benefit exploited and abused. In my town, one agency offers this to every patient and family leaving the hospital; they really zero in on the "achieve palliation" portion of the COP.

I do have to concur with HG regarding the OP; your dad was probably not appropriate for CHC to begin with. How could the

I agree with all that hospice guy has written. We...

2009-02-17T11:40:00.000-08:00

I agree with all that hospice guy has written. We have often provided continuous care help when a patient first comes home from the hospital in order to help get the patient stabilized and to provide the extensive teaching needed for a family unaccustomed to providing hands on medical care. The idea in those situations would be to taper off services as the family mastered the knowledge. There