Making a Referral

The initial call to Southern Tier Hospice and Palliative Care for any of our service options can come from any source – a member of the healthcare team, the patient, the family, a friend. If the call comes from someone other than the healthcare team or the patient, we must ensure that the patient is aware and approves that the referral is being made. Feel free to call and involve us even if the referral is not quite ready yet. Often getting us involved before treatment fully ends or before caregiving arrangements are complete makes the transition time much easier as the patient and family already know what support systems will be in place after the changes occur. We can also often assist in making these arrangements.

Admission to Hospice does require a physician’s clinical prognosis of 6 months or less. This is generally determined by asking the question, “If the disease runs its normal course, would you be surprised if this patient died within the next 6 months?” We also have a set of guidelines by diagnoses to help determine prognosis. We need the latest history and physical on the referred patient and a commitment from a physician or nurse practitioner to follow the patient on Hospice, writing orders and supervising care.

A patient does not need a DNR to be admitted to Hospice.