At Unique Hospice, our hospice medical directors bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to hospice care. Medical directors ensure that hospice and palliative care services are of the highest quality. Our medical directors provide compassionate and personalized care that meets the needs of each patient, family, and caregiver.
What is a Medical Director?
A medical director is a doctor who provides expert medical opinions and guidance to the hospice staff. The medical director is also responsible for managing any medications prescribed by the patient’s attending physician or other providers and providing oversight of services provided to hospice patients.
What Does a Hospice Medical Director Do?
The medical director will coordinate services between different parties involved in a patient’s care, including the patient’s family and other healthcare providers. The medical director will also be responsible for developing and implementing pain management and symptom control policies.
Other responsibilities of a hospice medical director may include:
- Reviewing patient care plans
- Managing medications prescribed by physicians or other providers
- Providing input on ethical decisions related to end-of-life care
- Coordinating services between different parties involved in a patient’s care
- Developing and implementing policies related to pain management and symptom control
- Providing guidance to the staff on best practices for quality of care
- Conducting regular reviews and assessments of hospice patients
What Hospice Team Members Does a Medical Director Work With?
The hospice medical director will work closely with the hospice care team, hospice patients and their families, attending physicians, and other healthcare providers. The hospice medical director is a key member of the hospice team who is responsible for providing guidance on best practices as well as reviewing patient care plans, and managing medications prescribed by physicians or other providers.
Hospice team members that the medical director works with include:
- Bereavement counselors
- Nutrition and diet counselors
- Music therapists
- Physical, speech, and occupational therapists
- Hospice chaplains
- Social workers
- Primary care physicians
How Do Hospice Medical Directors Ensure Quality of Care?
At Unique Hospice, our hospice medical directors ensure hospice care is provided with dignity and respect while providing individualized attention and support according to each patient’s needs. They also work to address staff needs and ensure all team members are able to effectively provide the necessary care.
The different ways hospice medical directors ensure the quality of care include:
- Oversee hospice medical services
- Guide the interdisciplinary (IDT) team
- Attend patient and provider meetings
- Determine prognosis
- Confirm hospice eligibility
- Provide educational resources to staff members
- Ensure staff members do not reach burnout
- Review staff performance
Hospice Medical Directors at Unique Hospice
At Unique Hospice, our medical directors go above and beyond to ensure the highest quality care for our hospice patients. Our hospice medical directors are knowledgeable, experienced professionals who have a deep understanding of hospice and palliative care and the ethical decisions that may be involved with end-of-life care. Contact us online today or call (626) 355-7077 to learn more about our medical director services for your hospice care.