Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 111 - RULES OF DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH › Chapter 111-8 - HEALTHCARE FACILITY REGULATION › Subject 111-8-37 - RULE AND REGULATIONS FOR HOSPICES › Rule 111-8-37-.17 - Medical Services

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(1) Medical services must be under the
				direction of the medical director. In addition to palliation and management of
				the terminal illness and related conditions, physicians of the hospice,
				including the physician members of the hospice care team, must also address the
				basic medical needs of the patients to the extent that such needs are not met
				by each patient's attending physician or other physician of the patient's
				choice.
(2)
Medical
				Director.
The medical director for the hospice must be a physician
				licensed to practice in this state and must have at least one year of
				documented experience on a hospice care team or in another setting managing the
				care of terminally ill patients. The medical director must:
(a) Be either an employee of the hospice or
				work under a written agreement with the hospice;
(b) Have admission privileges at one or more
				hospitals commonly serving patients in the hospice's geographical
				area;
(c) Be responsible for the
				direction and quality of the medical component of the care provided to patients
				by the hospice care team, including designating a licensed physician, employed
				by the hospice or working under a written agreement, to act on his or her
				behalf in the medical director's absence;
(d) Participate in the interdisciplinary plan
				of care reviews, patient case review conferences, comprehensive patient
				assessment and reassessment, and the quality improvement and utilization
				reviews;
(e) Review the clinical
				material of the patient's attending physician that documents basic disease
				process, prescribed medicines, assessment of patient's health at time of entry
				and the drug regimen;
(f) Ensure
				that each terminally ill patient receives a face-to-face assessment, by either
				the medical director or the terminally ill patient's attending physician, or is
				measured by a generally accepted life-expectancy predictability scale for
				continued admission eligibility at least every six months, as documented by a
				written certification from the medical director or the terminally ill patient's
				attending physician that includes:
1.The
				statement that the terminally ill patient's medical prognosis is for a life
				expectancy of six months or less if the terminal illness runs its natural
				course;
2.The specific current
				clinical finding and other documentation supporting a life expectancy of six
				months or less if the illness takes its natural course for the terminally ill
				patient; and
3.The signature of the
				physician.
(g)
				Communicate with each patient's attending physician and act as a consultant to
				attending physicians and other members of the hospice care team;
(h) Help to develop and review policies and
				procedures for delivering care and services to the patients and their family
				units;
(i) Serve on appropriate
				committees and report regularly to the hospice administrator regarding the
				quality and appropriateness of medical care;
(j) Ensure written protocols for symptom
				control and medication management are available; and
(k) Assist the administrator in developing,
				documenting and implementing a policy for discharge of patients from hospice
				care.