Medical Director

Graham Healthcare Group•Glen Carbon, IL

14d•$180 - $200

About The Position

Summary To ensure qualified medical direction and consultation for the delivery of hospice services and programs. To demonstrate that the Medical Director/hospice team physician has overall responsibility for patient care through documentation that demonstrates interaction/ communication with the attending physician as necessary for appropriate medical care. 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

Active, unrestricted state medical license
Board Certification (preferred): Hospice & Palliative Medicine (HPM), or Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, or Geriatrics with hospice experience
DEA registration
NPI number
Completed U.S. residency training
Proof of current malpractice coverage
Annual Certificate of Insurance (COI) required
Prior hospice or palliative care experience strongly preferred
Ability to perform hospice eligibility determinations
Strong skills in certification/recertification documentation
Active participation and leadership in IDG meetings
Proficiency in symptom management for end-of-life care
Knowledge of CMS Hospice Conditions of Participation (CoPs)
Understanding of hospice face-to-face (F2F) requirements
Ability to maintain compliant, defensible medical documentation
Timely completion of certifications, recertifications, and death certificates
Participation in IDG meetings, approximately 2 hours every 2 weeks
After-hours availability to take calls from hospice team
Onboarding with HR
Training on hospice philosophy and policies
CoPs and documentation training
EMR training
Medication formulary and prescribing expectations
Completion of medical education and relevant residency training required.
Work experience in internal medicine, geriatrics, palliative medicine or other relevant field of medicine required.
Physician licensure by the State of in which you work as a doctor of medicine or osteopathy required
Able to demonstrate knowledge and well-developed skills in hospice philosophy, medical aspects of hospice care including recent research, trends in hospice care and pain and symptom management
Ability to work independently, while collaborating with other team members
Ability of work with patients/families of all ages
Excellent time management and organizational skills to manage multiple tasks
Self-motivated and self-directed
Ability to focus on accuracy and detail
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Demonstrated leadership skills to facilitate appropriate direction and supervision to staff
Ability to adapt to changing Company priorities
Demonstrated understanding of, and ability to effectively use various computer software applications.
CPR certified.
Must have and maintain in good standing professional license, certificate, or registration, as applicable.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear.
The employee regularly is required to stand, walk, sit, climb stairs, use hand to finger, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls; and reach with hands and arms.
The employee frequently lifts and/or moves up to 50 pounds.
Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.

Nice To Haves

Fellowship in Palliative Medicine preferred.
Work experience in a certified hospice program and administrative experience preferred.
board certification in hospice and palliative medicine preferred.

Responsibilities

Devoting his/her best ability to the proper management of the program
Providing overall medical direction to the program including supervision of all hospice physician employees and contract hospice physicians
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, CHAP, 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 Clinical Director, criteria to monitor the quality of the education programs provided to physicians, personnel, and volunteers
Evaluating quality assurance and performance improvement plans and monitoring to identify medical education needs in cooperation with the Executive Director/Administrator and/or Clinical Director
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
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
Providing written certification of the terminal illness including a short clinical narrative for all subsequent benefit periods and may provide a face-to-face encounter visit with the patient prior to third and subsequent benefit periods
Consulting with attending physicians regarding pain and symptoms management for hospice patients
Managing oversight of the patient’s medications and treatments. This medication management responsibility includes medical decision making regarding changing, prescribing, discontinuing meds.
Acting as medical resource to the 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 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
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
All other duties as assigned by supervisor