Hospice Certification of Terminal Illness Form Template
Streamline Your Process with Our Hospice Certification Template
Navigating hospice care can be stressful, especially when you need to document a terminal illness accurately. This template serves healthcare professionals who require a straightforward way to create a certification of terminal illness, ensuring that patients receive the necessary care promptly. Save time with easily customizable fields, facilitate quicker insurance approval, and maintain compliance with legal requirements, all while ensuring clarity and compassion in communication. Explore the live template to start simplifying your documentation process today.
When to use this form
Use this form when an attending physician or hospice medical director must certify a prognosis of 6 months or less. It is useful at admission after an acute decline, when discharging from hospital to hospice, and at recertification. In these moments, you document the principal diagnosis, related conditions, and a brief narrative that supports eligibility. If you are coordinating new orders for symptom control, pair it with the Home health physician order form to align medications and services. To show ongoing decline between visits, pull details from a Caregiver daily log form. Done well, this documentation guides the plan of care, satisfies Medicare requirements, and helps prevent claim denials.
Must Ask Hospice Certification of Terminal Illness Questions
- What is the principal terminal diagnosis and which related conditions materially contribute to the prognosis?
This establishes the medical basis for a life expectancy of 6 months or less and clarifies what is related to the terminal condition. Clear linkage strengthens your clinical narrative and supports coverage decisions.
- What is the patient's current functional status (PPS/KPS) and recent changes in ADLs, weight, and mobility?
Objective decline demonstrates disease trajectory and substantiates eligibility. If ADL support is needed, verify competencies with the Home health aide skills checklist form.
- What recent clinical findings (vitals, labs, wounds, infections, imaging) support a limited prognosis?
Concrete evidence anchors your narrative and shows why disease-directed treatment is no longer appropriate. Include dates and trends to show progression, not isolated events.
- What are the patient's goals of care, code status, and has the attending physician agreed with the prognosis?
Aligning goals with the plan of care supports ethical, patient-centered decisions and reduces conflicts. Documenting attending concurrence meets regulatory expectations for certification and coordination.
- If this is a recertification, what has changed since the last benefit period and why does the 6-month-or-less prognosis remain reasonable?
Addressing interval change is required to justify continued eligibility. A clear comparison to the prior certification speeds decisions and helps prevent denials.
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