Hospice Policy

[yellowbow]

Are there rules the same everywhere? Does anyone know what they are? I know when you call them in no treament it stops except for comfort. But if you want to call DR. you have to call them first, than they call DR. If you want to go to ER you have to call them and if you go to ER, they revoke you. And if you go back you have to start all over with them?

Is this right?

Thanks for any infro.

[Treebywater]

It's actually NOT the same with everyone. Different organizations have different rules and interpret the 'measures for comfort only' idea a little bit differently.

The hospice we were with wouldn't have revoked us for going to the ER. They might not have looked at it as a wise move on our part, but they wouldn't have kicked us out.

Is your loved one on Hospice? Call one of the nurses and ask them to help you sort it all out. If you aren't there yet, do shop around before deciding. You may be able to find an organization taht will allow you to still be somewhat proactive with life-extending measures while still offering the support and care of the hospice philosophy.

[yellowbow]

Thank you for answering. We are with Hospice now. I could not get any help,so I had to call them. John did not go to the ER last night. He did start to take the treament and it helped. The EMT's did come they could not understand why the Hospice would kick us out. But I guess Blue Cross and Blue Sheild couln't pay becaue Hospice has it tied up! What a cro888? So I gave John treament back to back and than about 15 mins. later of Morphine Sulfate put in nebulizer . Plus I gave John a half hour later 1 Xanax 1mg MSIR 15mg I guess I have to keep John well druged

[missyk]

Does your hospice offer the help of a social worker? If they do...get ahold of her (usually it's a woman) and ask for her help in understanding the ins and outs of the program. We did that when Mom was using hospice.

As far as ER goes, here, we weren't "allowed" it, either. We were to call the hospice nurse on call and she would "take care of things". When Mom chose to have the SRS again this last time, hospice ended services (for now) because it's considered "life extending". When/if she needs the services again, they'll be back.

I'm sorry you're having to go through all this confusion! Many prayers for you and John!

[Linda661]

I mostly echo missyk's post. I dealt with the social worker AND the hospice nurse often when mom was on hospice. Not all hospices seem to operate the same even though they are all based on the same philosophy. Some are more tolerant of ER visits than others and it often depends on "what for".....it's all in the details of the particular hospice organization you are dealing with.

For instance, I had found out that some hospices permitted Tarceva since it was an at-home oral medication (though they wouldn't cover it in their Medicare supported services)....mine wasn't ready to consider it as part of their philosophy, so they just said no at the time to it if mom wanted their services. This issue turned out to be a non-issue for us, but you see how the details can be different?

That said, at any time the patient wants an ER intervention for problems, a doctor called....whatever, they have the right to have it at any time; hospice may "officially" stop by their particular policies, but it can be started back up at a later time as well.

Hope this helps,

Linda