Meeting Medical Supply Challenges in Hospice Care

According to the 2015 National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s Facts and Figures: Hospice Care in America, 1.6 to 1.7 million patients required hospice care in 2014.

Hospice care services include:

• Palliative pain and symptom alleviation, including physical, emotional and spiritual comfort
• The ordering, delivery and application of medical products
• Care and counseling support to the patient and family members

As a team of nurses, therapists, home health aides, physicians and counselors coordinate end-of-life services, attention to the ordering and delivery of medical supplies is a key component to providing adequate care.

Designing a supplies delivery plan requires attention to details including the right equipment and products in the appropriate quantities to meet the patient’s specific needs. It is also important to consider the needs of the caregiver and include them in the decision making process. Often, nurses complete this assessment and time-consuming ordering process. In order to ensure nurses are able to spend as much time as possible providing care, it is important to make the product selection and ordering process as efficient as possible.

What to Consider

1. Patient Assessment: understanding the patient’s diagnosis, treatment plan, physical environment and caregiver needs will assist in choosing the right products and equipment
2. Product Knowledge: understanding the many options for supplies including the features and benefits of equipment will ensure that the right products are chosen for the best patient outcomes
3. Cost: after choosing the right products, streamlining the ordering and delivery process can ensure that products are obtained at the lowest total cost of ownership
4. Reimbursement: with over 85% of hospice patients receiving benefits through Medicare, it is important to have an efficient, proven claims submission process

Concordance Healthcare Solutions provides hospice professionals with specific innovative tools to address these challenges. Contact us to learn more how Concordance can help alleviate your supply chain challenges.