Center to Advance Palliative Care

Patients that meet medicare criteria for GIP can be converted to GIP level of care. This would require that the hospital have a contract with a hospice program to meet all of the medicare guidelines for hospice and to provide the core services required with hospice. When this is done in the acute care hospital the patient is discharge--on paper--and readmitted with a totally new account number and medical record with the hospice plan of care put in place. The hospital may put into the contract wether hospice staff will be providing the care in the hospital or if the hospital staff will provide the care with collaboration and oversight by the hospice team. This service generally is recommended for patients that have an advanced disease process and are not likely to survive for discharge with a projected life expectancy of just a few days. Sharol Herr, RN, MSEd; Nurse Clinician/Education Coordinator; Mount Carmel Health Palliative Care Leadership Center; Columbus, Ohio.