Looking to Grow Your Hospice Referrals?
All too often Medicare beneficiaries die while receiving home health services. These individuals would have been excellent candidates for hospice services. The key is getting the home health organization to transition patients at the appropriate time.
Create A Win-Win Situation
This sales effort is all about creating a win-win situation. After patients have received five visits, a home health agency will almost certainly get the same amount of reimbursement if it transfers these patients to hospice versus keeping them on service. In the former case, the agency will avoid all the visits involved in caring for this critically ill individual. Thus, the transfer to hospice is a financial plus for the home health agency. While both settings are equally equipped to meet the nursing needs of the patient, the hospice is better equipped to deal with family dynamics and dysfunction around this terminal situation and to save the Medicare beneficiary the cost of drugs and equipment. So encouraging a transfer to hospice of terminal home health patients can be a “win-win-win” situation for the home health agency, the hospice and most importantly, the patients and their family.
New Report Helps Hospices Target Their Marketing Efforts
Healthcare Market Resources, Inc. has designed a report to give guidance to hospices in marketing to to home health agencies. From this report, a hospice can gain data on every home health agency in its service area as to the numbers of patients that a) die on service and b) are transferred to hospice. Armed with this information, the marketing representative can set account priorities and begin a targeted sales effort.
Please be aware that the government prescribed nursing assessment (OASIS) has a question that speaks to whether the patient is terminally ill. Thus, the agency on its own is already taking an important first step in identifying potential hospice candidates.