Hospice Medical Director - Trinity Health At Home - Grand Haven

Basic Job Function Summary: In Accordance with the Trinity Health at Home (THAH) Mission, The Hospice Medical Director will be responsible for the overall medical direction of patient and family services. The Hospice Medical Director will work with the Executive Director, Director of Clinical Services and Hospice Supervisors to plan and evaluate clinical services. Serve on the Executive Team at the program level. Support Provider Relations activities and provide input to the CPI Committee. Assume a leadership role on the QAPI Committee.

Job Status: Full Time, 80 hours per pay period

What are the Minimum Qualifications?

• A physician (Medicine doctor, M.D. or Doctor of Osteopathy, D.O) licensed to practice medicine in state(s) practicing.
• Ability to operate a motor vehicle required; must possess a valid drivers license and have access to a functional automobile during work hours.
• Demonstrate ability to assess, plan, evaluate and analyze nursing aspects of patient/family care and work in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary team
• Demonstrated experience/ability to lead people centered care to patients and families including the psychosocial, spiritual, and multicultural domains of care
• Demonstrated competence in verbal, written, and word processing communication
• Demonstrated ability to manage time, meet scheduling targets, and function in an autonomous manner

What are the Essential Functions? 

• Oversee and continually evaluate the quality of medical services hospice patients receive.
• Periodically review all policies and procedures relating to the provisions of medical services and participates in creating new policies and procedures when needed.
• Create and maintain a network of physicians to serve the needs of hospice patients. Assure that staffing is available for making patient visits, assessments and certification determinations.
• Responsible for 24-hour availability “on-call” for patient needs.
• Support Provider Relations activities by mentoring physicians and participating in education and promotion of hospice services to community physicians and hospitals.
• Review the active medical and/or palliative care provided in the home or inpatient setting.
• Act as a consultant to the patient's physician and other members of the hospice team. Act as the liaison between the patient’s attending physician and the Interdisciplinary team and helps resolve conflicting care situations.
• Determine the appropriate level of care for hospice admission in conjunction with the interdisciplinary team and the attending physician.
• Certify, in conjunction with the attending physician, that the patient's life expectancy is not expected to exceed six months if the disease follows the expected trajectory. Also, recertifies limited life expectancy at appropriate intervals according to state and federal regulations
• Attend in person and actively participate in Interdisciplinary Team meetings weekly to discuss patient's plan of care and provide education to the Interdisciplinary Team members according to Medicare guidelines.
• Maintain a regular schedule of participation in all components of the hospice care program to which assigned. Assure 24/7 availability of physician coverage for routine and emergency situations.
• Create and assist with the development of ongoing educational programs for community physicians and physicians affiliated with Trinity Health at Home.
• Attend and actively participate in regularly scheduled meetings of the Executive, QAPI, and Ethics Committees. Involved in other meetings and staff in-services as needed.
• Support Provider Relations activities to mentor physicians.
• Provide input to QAPI process and attends QAPI Meeting quarterly via WebEx or in person (approximately two hours each).
• Serve as a leader of the Hospice Interdisciplinary Team responsible for the establishment of policies governing the day-to-day provision of hospice care and services.
• Consult with the attending physician and the Interdisciplinary Team in establishing a written plan of care for each hospice patient, and in reviewing and updating the plan of care at intervals specified in the plan.
• Assume direct medical care of patients, or assign a physician to those patients. Encourage the referring physician’s participation in the continued care of the patient and in the development of the plan of care.
• Assume responsibilities for the medical care of inpatient hospice patients, if the primary physician does not have attending privileges at the inpatient facility or does not chose to remain attending physician once patient is admitted to hospice. Agrees to obtain necessary credentialing to obtain approval for rounding on inpatient hospice patients daily.
• Participate in on-call medical coverage for hospice patients on a rotational basis with the other physicians on the roster.
• Co-ordinate on-call physician services for hospice patients to provide coverage on a 24-hour/7-day basis.
• Designate a physician alternate to perform the duties of the medical director in his/her stead when necessary.
• Collaborate with the interdisciplinary team on needed face to face visits for symptom management and other necessary face to face visits. Patients at General inpatient level of care require daily physician visits for symptom management and active management of the hospice plan of care.
• Physicians expected to perform face to face physician visits to newly admitted patients, symptomatic patients, or patients requiring face to face visits for certification or re-certification purposes, on an as needed basis. (Typically 12-15 visits per week, based upon needs of the program.)
• All documentation to be completed at the time of visit.
• Perform other duties as requested.
• Adhere to the practice of confidentiality regarding patients, families, and the organization.