Coordinating Care Between Multiple Healthcare Providers For Your Loved One In Hospice
When your loved one enters hospice care, you might think all their medical care will now come from the hospice team. In many cases, that's true. But sometimes, your family may still work with other doctors and healthcare providers too. This can feel confusing at first, but with good planning, everyone can work together to provide the best possible care.
The key is making sure all the providers talk to each other and understand their roles. Think of yourself as the conductor of an orchestra. Each musician plays their part, but you help them play in harmony together.
Don’t Forget to Download Our Free “Notes For My Doctors & Nurses” Workbook. It can be very helpful when you are coordinating care for your loved one!
Understanding Who Does What
Your hospice team becomes the main group in charge of your loved one's comfort and daily care. They handle pain control, medical equipment, and most day-to-day health needs. The hospice doctor typically becomes the primary doctor for issues related to your loved one's main illness.
But your family might still see other providers for certain things. Your loved one's heart doctor might continue to manage a pacemaker. An eye doctor might still treat glaucoma. A skin doctor could handle a recurring rash that's not related to the main illness.
The rule of thumb is simple: hospice handles anything related to the terminal diagnosis and comfort care. Other doctors handle unrelated conditions that don't affect your loved one's overall prognosis or comfort.
This division isn't always crystal clear, which is why good communication between all providers is so important. When in doubt, start by calling your hospice nurse. They can help you figure out who should handle each concern.
Avoiding Medication Mix-Ups
One of the biggest risks when working with multiple providers is medication conflicts. Different doctors might prescribe drugs that don't work well together, or you might end up with two medicines that do the same thing.
Keep a complete list of all medications your loved one takes. Include prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Update this list every time something changes, and bring it to every medical appointment. We have specific pages for this in the “Notes For My Doctors & Nurses” workbook that you can download above.
Make sure each doctor knows about all the other providers on your team. Your hospice doctor should know about the heart specialist. The eye doctor should know about hospice care. Don't assume they'll figure it out on their own or that information automatically gets shared between offices.
If a non-hospice doctor wants to prescribe a new medication, ask them to check with the hospice team first. A quick phone call between providers can prevent problems and make sure the new medicine fits with the overall care plan.
Sharing Medical Records
Different doctors often use different computer systems that don't talk to each other. This means test results and visit notes might not automatically share between providers. You may need to help information flow between offices.
Ask each provider to send reports to the others when something important happens. If your loved one sees the heart doctor, ask them to send a summary to the hospice team. When the hospice nurse makes changes to medications, ask them to update other doctors who need to know.
Consider creating a simple medical binder with copies of recent test results, medication lists, and important medical history. Bring this binder to every appointment. It helps new providers understand your loved one's situation quickly and completely.
Some families find it helpful to ask for copies of all test results and visit summaries. You don't need to understand everything in these reports, but having them available can speed up care when providers need to know what happened during previous visits.
Managing Appointments
Juggling multiple medical appointments can be exhausting for families and overwhelming for hospice patients. Work with all your providers to reduce unnecessary visits and combine trips when possible.
Talk honestly with each provider about your loved one's energy level and goals. Some doctors might suggest monthly check-ups that made sense before hospice but aren't needed now. Others might be able to do phone visits instead of requiring office trips.
Ask about home visits when possible. Some specialists will come to your house, especially for hospice patients. This can be much easier on your loved one and your family. Even if it costs a bit more, the reduced stress might be worth it.
Consider the timing of appointments too. If your loved one feels best in the mornings, try to schedule visits then. If they need afternoon rest time, protect that schedule. Good providers will work around your family's needs.
Emergency Situations
Having multiple providers can create confusion during emergencies. Who should you call first? Which hospital should you go to? What if different doctors give you conflicting advice about urgent situations?
Work out an emergency plan before you need it. Talk with your hospice team about what kinds of problems they handle and when you should call other providers instead. Get clear instructions about when to call 911 versus when to call the hospice on-call nurse.
Make sure all providers have each other's contact information. If your loved one needs emergency care, the hospital doctors should be able to reach both the hospice team and other specialists quickly.
Keep emergency contact numbers in an easy-to-find place. Include the hospice after-hours number, your primary care doctor, any specialists you still see, and pharmacy phone numbers. Make sure other family members know where to find this information too.
Insurance and Billing Issues
Working with multiple providers during hospice can create billing confusion. Medicare hospice benefits cover most comfort care, but other services might be billed separately. This can lead to unexpected bills or coverage denials if things aren't handled correctly.
Before seeing any non-hospice provider, check with your hospice team about coverage. They can help you understand what will be paid for and what might create out-of-pocket costs. Some services that were covered before hospice might not be covered the same way now.
Keep good records of all medical bills and insurance statements. If you get bills that seem wrong or conflicting information from different providers, don't hesitate to ask questions. Insurance rules around hospice care can be complex, and mistakes happen.
Your hospice social worker can often help sort out billing and insurance issues. They work with these systems every day and understand how different types of coverage work together.
Making It Work for Your Family
The goal of coordinating multiple providers isn't to create more work for your family. It's to make sure your loved one gets the best possible care without gaps, conflicts, or unnecessary stress.
Don't be afraid to speak up if something isn't working. If appointments are too frequent or providers aren't communicating well, say something. Good healthcare providers want to work as a team, and they need your feedback to do their jobs well.
Remember that you can always change your mind about working with multiple providers. If managing several doctors becomes too much, you can ask the hospice team to take over more of the care. The choice is yours, and you can adjust as your family's needs change.
Your loved one's comfort and your family's peace of mind are what matter most. When all providers work together toward these goals, everyone benefits.