Hospice Admissions Process

One of the first things Weinstein Hospice will do is contact the patient’s physician to make sure that he or she agrees that hospice care is appropriate for this patient. Then one of our liaisons will meet with the patient and family to explain how hospice care works.

The patient will be asked to sign consent and admission forms. These are similar to the forms patients sign when they enter a hospital. The “hospice election form” says that the patient understands that the care is palliative (that is, aimed at pain relief and symptom control rather than curative). It also outlines the services available. The form Medicare patients sign also tells how electing the Medicare hospice benefit affects other Medicare coverage.