Hospice Medical Director

Luminary Hospice•Akron, OH

15d

About The Position

The hospice Medical Director will have overall responsibility for the medical component of the hospice program. The hospice Medical Director will provide oversight of physician services by complementing attending physician care, acting as a medical resource to the interdisciplinary group, assuring continuity of hospice medical services, and assuring appropriate measures to control patient symptoms. The Medical Director will serve as a hospice champion – promoting and representing the program to physicians, physician groups, discharge planners, other referral sources, community health organizations, and potential donors, as appropriate.

Requirements

Licensed as a Doctor of Medicine or Osteopathy in the state without restriction or subject to any disciplinary or corrective action.
Maintains controlled substances registration with state and federal authorities.
Have experience in hospice or palliative care and/or training in end-of-life care.
Participates in ongoing medical education activities related to the medical care of hospice and palliative care patients.
Not excluded from participating in the Medicare program

Responsibilities

Devoting his/her best ability to the proper management of the program
Providing overall medical direction to the program
Assuring that the established policies, bylaws, rules, and regulations of the organization are followed in the program
Adhering to requirements, terms, and conditions required by Medicare Conditions of Participation, accrediting body, and federal and state statutes governing the provision of services
Establishing and continually reviewing policies and procedures related to patient care, medical education, and emergency procedures
Developing and continually reviewing, in cooperation with the Executive Director/Administrator and/or Chief Clinical Officer/Clinical Director, criteria to monitor the quality of the education programs provided to physicians, personnel, and volunteers
Evaluating quality assessment performance improvement (QAPI) plans and monitoring to identify medical education needs in cooperation with the Executive Director/Administrator and/or Chief Clinical Officer/Clinical Director.
Participates in QAPI teams and activities, as needed
Proposing organizational programs to address the needs identified (with the assistance and input of consultants of the specialties where medical education needs were identified)
Working with the Executive Director/Administrator and/or Clinical Director, after implementation of the programs, to determine the impact of said programs on the quality of care
Serving as a hospice champion in the community
Acting as a liaison to community physicians by providing consultation and education to colleagues and attending physicians related to admission criteria for hospice and palliative care
Acting as medical liaison with other physicians at Luminary Hospice
Providing training regarding the medical aspects of caring for terminally ill patients to physicians, personnel, and volunteers
Reviewing patients’ medical eligibility for hospice services, in accordance with hospice program policies and procedures, and establishing the plan of care in conjunctions with attending physician and interdisciplinary group prior to providing care written certification of terminal illness
Providing written certification of the terminal illness for all subsequent benefit periods
Performing face-to-face encounters within thirty (30) days of the third and subsequent hospice benefit certification periods and attest to the encounter. (NP may complete the encounter and report findings to the hospice physician.)
Consulting with attending physicians regarding pain and symptoms management for hospice patients
Managing oversight of the patient’s medications and treatments
Acting as medical resource to the hospice interdisciplinary group
Attending interdisciplinary group meetings and working in a team approach with the group
In conjunction with the attending physician and interdisciplinary group, reviewing and updating the plan of care at least every 15 days, or more frequently as needed
Documenting care provided in the patient’s clinical record, providing evidence of progression of the end-stage disease process
Acting as primary physician for patients whose referring/attending physicians desire to relinquish that care and/or if the referring/attending physicians are not available for further contact
Maintaining current knowledge of the latest research and trends in hospice care and pain/symptom management
Reviewing and developing protocols for treatment, and proposing the most current options for interventions
Develop and implement procedures and protocols in regard to OSHA standards, including the handling of hazardous medications
Demonstrating knowledge in communications, and counseling patients and family/caregivers dealing with end-of-life issues
Participating in resolution of interpersonal conflict and issues of clinical and ethical concern
Ensuring that competent physician services are routinely available on a 24-hour basis to meet the general medical needs of the hospice patient to the extent the needs are not met by the attending physician
Assisting with evaluation of protocols and procedures with respect to quality and cost outcomes