Communication: The Key to Hospice-Physician Relationships

Since hospice admittance requires a physician’s referral, you’re usually one of the first places your patients and their families turn as they begin the search for a hospice provider. We know that as a care provider, you feel a responsibility during your patient’s end-of-life stage to lead them to the best care. You want to know that you’re directing them to someone who will provide your patient with high-quality, compassionate care, support their family, and work with you to develop the right care plan to make them as comfortable as possible.

In other words, you want your referral to be to a hospice agency you know and trust. For agencies like Traditions Health hospice, that means it is our responsibility to build strong relationships with physicians and include them in the end-of-life journey through consistent and meaningful communication.

That’s why we make a point of communicating regularly—and frequently—with physicians regarding their patients’ care plans and progress. We also understand how critical it is to be prompt, especially when hospice patients are involved, so we pride ourselves on responding in 24 hours or less.

Not only is communication the most important way to build relationships with physicians and other care providers, it’s the most important way to provide patients with the best care. After all, isn’t that the ultimate goal?

Why else do we prioritize communication with a patient’s physician, care team, and interdisciplinary team?

It keeps them in the loop.

You know as well as we do that your involvement in a patient’s care doesn’t end once they move to hospice. By fostering consistent communication, we can allow physicians to stay updated on the plan of care their patient is receiving—as well as if their prescribed care orders are being accurately followed.

It helps with continuity of care.

Frequent and open conversations open a channel to ensure continuity of care. By establishing a flow of information and insights between physicians and hospice providers, both parties can easily agree on the best course of action for meeting your patient’s ongoing care needs.

It allows physicians to determine if more collaboration is needed.

Every hospice patient is unique. Multiple factors play a role in shaping their situations: their conditions, their life expectancy, the time they chose to start hospice care, etc. Some patients may require different types or levels of care as their condition progresses. In this case, regular updates from hospice providers can help physicians determine if they need to make adjustments to the plan of care or how the plan of care is being administered

It lets care providers know they’re working with a quality hospice agency to which they can feel comfortable referring other patients.

Trust is one of the most valuable things one care provider can give to another when it comes to helping patients feel at peace in their final days. Meaningful communication between a physician and hospice agency builds relationships with trust at their core.

We want to be the hospice provider you trust.

At Traditions Health, hospice is about living. Our top priority is your patients’ comfort and dignity, and we want to work hand in hand with you to meet our standard of care.

Providing the best care possible to your patients begins with a conversation with you. Fill out our Hospice Referral form to start our clinical collaboration.