Request a referral to hospice from a doctor who has been treating the patient. Do a “self-referral” by contacting a palliative care provider directly. In general, most referrals to hospices come from doctors, although social workers, nurses, and patients' families can also make a referral to hospice. 1 The trend in the United States has been to refer patients in their last days of life, including those in need of Home Care in Poway CA.
Across the country, the average length of stay is 26 days6. If given the option, 83 percent of terminally ill patients choose hospice, 115. To make a referral to a hospice, you must first familiarize yourself with the different hospices in your area. The first step in getting more referrals to hospices from other healthcare providers is to consolidate your agency's value proposition. Lower Cape Fear LifeCare doesn't require your doctor to make a referral for care; anyone can refer someone for palliative care. By tracking the number of recommendations you receive each month and find out what percentage of them are accepted, you can identify trends in your referral process and modify your operational, sales and marketing strategies. Whether you want to streamline your recommendation processes or want to increase your overall productivity, implementing a CRM solution is a great starting point to help you increase the number of referrals.
that you receive. If the doctor doesn't agree that hospice is the right option, a self-referral can be made by contacting a local hospice provider directly. The most common medical factors that should lead to considering a referral to hospice are listed in table 3,18,27. Unfortunately, most referrals are precipitated due to a crisis immediately prior to death. Another great way to get more referrals from other healthcare providers and from patients or families themselves is to offer educational resources related to palliative care.
Although a doctor's order is needed to receive palliative care, anyone can make the initial referral to receive care. The problem is that your palliative care agency is likely competing with other agencies for referrals from the same healthcare providers or organizations. Continuity of care and multigenerational relationships allow the family doctor to guide the patient and their family through the referral process to hospice with a unique knowledge of the patient's values, family problems and communication style. You can use these outreach campaigns to connect with other healthcare providers and remind them of the benefits of referring patients to your palliative care agency.
To make a proper referral, doctors need to know some of the most common misconceptions about palliative care (table).
