Hospice Medical Director Designee (Consultant)

At Affinity Hospice Care Inc., we've designed a plan of care that will work for you and your family. We understand the importance in providing you the guidance to make those decisions easier and before a time of crisis. That’s why we have a diverse team of experienced professionals to offer a broad range of services.

The Hospice Medical Director Designee will have overall responsibility for the medical component of the hospice program. The Hospice Medical Director Designee will provide oversight of physician services by complementing attending physician care, acting as a medical resource to the interdisciplinary group, assuring continuity of hospice medical services, and assuring appropriate measures to control patient symptoms. The Hospice Medical Director Designee will serve as a hospice champion - promoting and representing the program to physicians, physician groups, discharge planners, other referral sources, community health organizations, and potential donors, as appropriate.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Medical Direction & Program Leadership — Provide overall medical direction to the hospice program, devoting best efforts to its proper management and ensuring adherence to organizational policies, bylaws, rules, and regulations.
• Regulatory Compliance — Ensure the program meets all requirements of the Medicare Conditions of Participation, accrediting body standards, OSHA standards (including handling of hazardous medications), and applicable federal and state statutes.
• Eligibility Certification & Recertification — Review patients' medical eligibility for hospice services; provide written certification of terminal illness for initial and all subsequent benefit periods; and perform (or oversee NP-completed) face-to-face encounters within 30 days of the third and subsequent benefit periods, with appropriate attestation.
• Plan of Care Oversight — Establish the plan of care in conjunction with the attending physician and interdisciplinary group (IDG) prior to care, and review and update it at least every 15 days or more frequently as needed; document care in the clinical record with evidence of end-stage disease progression.
• Clinical & Medication Management — Oversee patients' medications and treatments; consult with attending physicians on pain and symptom management; and serve as primary physician when the referring/attending physician relinquishes care or is unavailable.
• Interdisciplinary Group Participation — Attend IDG meetings, serve as the medical resource to the team, and participate in resolving interpersonal conflicts and issues of clinical or ethical concern.
• 24-Hour Physician Availability — Ensure competent physician services are routinely available 24 hours a day to meet patients' general medical needs when not met by the attending physician.
• Quality Assessment & Performance Improvement (QAPI) — Evaluate QAPI plans, participate in QAPI teams and activities, develop and review policies, protocols, and procedures for patient care and treatment, and assess programs for quality and cost outcomes in cooperation with the Administrator and Clinical Director.
• Education & Training — Develop, review, and deliver medical education for physicians, personnel, and volunteers on the care of terminally ill patients, including identifying education needs through QAPI data and measuring program impact on quality of care.
• Community & Physician Liaison — Serve as a hospice champion in the community, act as liaison to community and attending physicians regarding hospice/palliative admission criteria and consultation, and maintain current knowledge of research and trends in hospice care and pain/symptom management.

Requirements

• Licensed as a Doctor of Medicine or Osteopathy in California without restriction or subject to any disciplinary or corrective action.
• Must possess a CA physician license and a minimum of 2 years of full-time (FT) hospice/palliative leadership experience.
• Maintains controlled substances registration with state and federal authorities.
• Have experience in hospice or palliative care and/or training in end of life care.
• Participates in ongoing medical education activities related to the medical care of hospice and palliative care patients.
• Not excluded from participating in the Medicare program.

Benefits

Not eligible as this is a consultant role for the company.