Palliative Care/Hospice Care

• A consult note or documentation of communication with a palliative care clinician following the consult is required. The consult can be within or outside of the practice.
• In some areas where Palliative Care is not available, a provider, such as a primary care physician, may serve as a palliative care provider. In a situation such as this, you may count a visit as a palliative care consult if there is documentation in the EMR from that physician regarding the palliative care provided. 
• If a referral was provided but there is no evidence that a consult took place, choose “Referred but did not go”

• If there is documentation in a provider note that a hospice referral was made or hospice was consulted, it is not necessary to view the actual referral or order and you may answer “Yes” to this question.
• If no evidence of a referral exists, choose “No”
• If there is evidence that the patient enrolled in hospice but no referral is found, choose “Unknown”

• If the date of the hospice referral cannot be determined by the evidence of the referral, select “Unknown” for the date of the referral

• If a hospital discharge summary indicates the patient is being discharged home to/with hospice, select “Enrolled”
• If a phone note or portal message from a family member indicates the patient enrolled in hospice select “Enrolled”
• If an obituary indicates the patient died while in hospice care, select “Enrolled”
• General Inpatient Care (GIP) is a short term hospice care level that provides symptom management and pain control for patients who cannot be treated in other settings. If there is documentation of GIP, select “Enrolled”
• If confirmation that the patient enrolled in hospice is not found, select “NOT enrolled”

If a patient enrolls in hospice, but later revokes hospice care, enter the date of the original enrollment. If a patient enrolls in hospice more than once, enter the date of the original enrollment.