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Physician Education on Financing Hospice in an
HMO Environment
Most physicians are unsure of how hospice is financed. We hope that by informing
physicians how this works that we will help to decrease late referrals. So
far the results are promising. Sisters of Providence Hospice of Providence,
Providence, Oregon
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Delivering Cookies to Physicians
During national hospice month (November) our volunteers bake cookies and nurses,
MSW, chaplain, and CNAs deliver to physicians in our area. Walla Walla Community
Hospice, Wall Walla, Washington
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Summary of Services for Physicians
Following a patient's death, a list of hospice services rendered to the patient
and family during their stay is sent to the physician (e.g., number of nursing
visits, CNA visits, MSW, chaplain, volunteer, bereavement follow-up, who
present at death, then personal, handwritten note by coordinator to thank
physician and staff. Adventist Health Hospice, Tillamook, Oregon
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Referral Board
All referrals are placed on a board with the date
referral. Staff member is immediately assigned and goal is admission
or denial within 24 to 48 hours. Case managers/ SW become more
aware of marketing, adm. criteria, insurance coverage, MD interaction
etc., DME, etc., etc. Good way to do quick follow-up, educate
staff and market all at the same time. Anonymous
Return to Great Ideas
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Cookies for Physicians
After attempting to take lunches
to physicians' offices we realized that we could
not compete with the pharmaceutical representatives,
etc., so we had a cookie jar designed with our
name on it and have our volunteers, and now high
school students, bake home-made cookies. We also
have a corps of volunteers who have a list of
specific physicians to whom they deliver informational
brochures, marketing pieces, etc., on a regular
basis. Family Hospice, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Halloween Marketing Idea
When Halloween approaches, we
purchase plastic pumpkin baskets, witches
hats and Halloween coffee mugs. We fill these
with
candy and distribute them to doctors'
offices for their staff. The mugs, filled with
candy,
go to social workers, case managers and
discharge planners in hospitals. The larger buckets
and
witches hats go to the doctors. Hospice
Savannah, Savannah, Georgia
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Marketing Strategy to Increase
Physician Referrals and Promote Physician
Satisfaction With Services
a) Members of administrative
team are assigned key doctors, b) Member
of team responsible
for establishing a working relationship
with doctors or key members of his staff,
c) Means
of communication, frequency, determined
between staff member and doctor/staff member,
d) Team
member communicates patient care
issues, assesses physician/patient needs,
relates new program
ideas within these established
guidelines, and e) Team member reports findings
to Operations
Committee on a monthly basis. Methodist
Alliance Hospice, Memphis, Tennessee
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Staff Awareness of Referral Sources
Provide clinical and administrative
staff with feedback from
all referral sources such as: changes
in policy with managed care
groups; physician feedback--good
or bad--and updates on changes in marketplace.
The purpose
is to help staff realize
that our referral resources are important
to our program and that we are
all team members in a business
of hospice. VNA Hospice Care, St. Louis,
Missouri
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Letters to the Editor
Letters to the editor are great tools for
getting out information. Have your medical director write
a letter to the editor when your newspaper runs an article
on Kevorkian or studies that have been published regarding
pain control. Volunteers are usually willing to write letters
to the editor to encourage others to volunteer for your hospice.
Letters can also be written for national hospice month, national
nursing week (a nice way to thank your nurses for their hard
work the first week in May), national social work month (March)
and national pastoral care week (October). These can serve
not only as staff strokes, but also to educate on the role
of these team members in the care of patients.This is one
of the top-read sections of any newspaper. Hospice Inc.,
Wichita, Kansas.
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Informational Feature Articles
Our hospice serves 19 counties in Kansas,
most of which are considered rural. We target media communications
to ensure publication of news releases. However, periodically,
we send out infomational feature articles, such as a recent
one on advance directives written by our director of education,
to all the newspapers in our service area. These can be kept
until there is space as they are not time-limited. These
are picked up by virtually all the smaller papers and always
by the two monthlies geared towards readers aged 55+. Hospices
can definitely foster death and dying discussion in their
communities with such articles as the topic of assisted suicide
can be tied in, grief, etc. Hospice Inc., Wichita, Kansas.
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Newspaper Articles
When sending notice of a hospice happening
to local papers include ideas for a story line including
quotable statements and names and numbers of potential interviewees.
It may result in an article. Mid-Willamette Valley Hospice,
Salem, Oregon
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Informational Packet for Identified Families
Providing referral physicians with a patient
envelope for potential hospice patient/family seen in office.
Envelope contains: a ready reference card with names, hours,
address, phone number, a general hospice brochure, special
brochure on financial considerations. Idea well received
by our physicians; helps doctor and patient. Hospice of Licking
County, Newark, Ohio
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Magnetic Signs on Staff Cars
We put magnetic signs on all RN, CNA and social
workers' and chaplains' cars when they are on hospice business.
This is voluntary but all choose to participate. We logged 72,000
miles on business last fiscal year. Joliet Area Community Hospice,
Joliet, Illinois [Hometown of Dale Larson! ]
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Collaboration Diversity Event
African American staff organized and conducted "Hospice" Alive" in
their community. Sold ads in program and took up collection.
Groups from other churches in area put on performance. Hospice
of the Treasure Coast, Fort Pierce, Florida
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Outreach to Diverse Patient Groups: Booths at
County Health Fairs
Because we are a very racially diverse county
in southern California, we've begun targeting the Korean and
Vietnamese MD's and community groups. We just had a booth at
the Korean Community Center Health Fair and did 7100 blood sugar
checks. We've hired staff fluent in these languages to provide
the care and f/u with MD's, etc. Coordinated Hospice, Westminster,
California
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Sending Family Letters to Physicians
When families send letters of appreciation to
Hospice with information such as "we wish we were referred
sooner" or "Hospice really helped" we should send
copies of these (with family permission, of course) to their
physician or maybe all physicians who refer to encourage more
and earlier referrals. This could also be done by copying and
sending surveys that address these questions. Hospice of Metro
Denver, Denver, Colorado
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Assigning Primary RN Case Managers to High-Referral
Physician Practices and Clinics
Reduces number of phone calls for MD and RN's.
Develops mutual understanding of practice patterns. Increases
MD loyalty. Visiting Nurse and Hospice of San Francisco, San
Francisco, California
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Promoting Hospice
National Hospice Month promotion of Hospice:
Roving Cart and display - NHO Code of Ethics, hospice brochures,
family fact sheet, comments written from family, satisfaction
surveys, hospice pens. Goes from unit to unit; hospitals, NH.
Tea reception at end of month to have IDM team available for
introduction, question and answers. Ontario-Yates Hospice,
Geneva, New York
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Better Communications with Attending Physician
Thank you from supervisor for referral and name
of primary nurse to doctor within a week. Progress note to
attending from primary every 90 days. RN (helps especially
with long-term patients). Team meetings are held close to workplace
of medical director to enhance their attendance. St. John's
Hospice, Grove, Oklahoma
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Public Relations Staff
Our hospice census is about 90. We have one
public relations person for Ft. Worth and one for Dallas. Our
nurses are limited to 8-10 patients each. The public relations
people work with the nursing staff to break through in the
doctor's office. They provide lunches and socialize with the
staff and doctor's to be the hospice they would think of to
refer patients to. American Hospice, Inc., Dallas, Texas
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