A Hospice IDG That Pays – Really?

An interdisciplinary approach to care is engrained in hospice culture.

Team members meet and work together to help patients and families get the care they need. Someone takes notes. A hospice wouldn't think of trying to take care of patients without having an Interdisciplinary Group/Interdisciplinary Team Policy and having procedures to match.

Yet, documenting that the IDG updated the comprehensive assessment and the plan of care at least every 15 days without careful attention to hospice eligibility standards can result in lost revenue. Frequently, it's not that the team didn't take excellent care of the beneficiary and family. It's that the documentation of the IDG discussion as documented doesn't show that all criteria were met. So Medicare takes back the money.

Not good.

Get every IDG member on board with documenting patient changes, eligibility and plan-of-care changes to help your hospice prosper and protect your ability to keep providing the excellent hospice services your patients deserve.