At Acura Hospice Care, our physicians are a vital part of the hospice team. Physicians provide guidance and medical oversight in the care of patients living with a life-limiting disease. Some primary care providers or specialty physicians may choose to follow their patients’ care while the patient is on our hospice service. Others defer primary/attending physician care to the hospice physician. If the hospice physician serves as the attending physician, a patient may continue to see their PCP or specialist for care not related to the hospice diagnosis.
If the primary care physician or specialist chooses to continue as the patient’s attending physician, they are jointly responsible with the Acura Hospice interdisciplinary team in establishing, reviewing and updating the patient’s plan of care.
In order for hospice care to be provided, Acura Hospice must obtain an order for hospice assessment and treatment as well as a certification that, based on the physician’s clinical expertise, the patient’s prognosis is for a life expectancy of six months or less if the terminal illness runs its normal course.