title: Hospice patient advocacy through complete documentation.
abstract: The hospice movement was built around patient choice and autonomy. Because of recent Medicare scrutiny, some patients are being denied the choice of hospice at the end of their lives. Hospice staff must learn how to accurately and completely document the care they provide so that patients are not denied access to care because they do not "meet the guidelines" or payment is denied as a result of inadequate or unclear documentation.
authors.affiliation: Valley Hospice, Inc., Steubenville, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nichols
mesh_terms: D004282:Documentation; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000191:economics; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007349:Insurance, Health, Reimbursement; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D014481:United States