What Is A Good Overall Math Level On Ixl, Articles L

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Media Communications - Journalism. In the nearly forty years that the Medicare hospice benefit has been in place, weve seen a significant shift in the primary diagnoses, how communities access care, length of service, and how hospice is made available, said NHPCO President and CEO Edo Banach. If coma, should have any of the following on day three of the coma: Eligibility supported by the following signs/symptoms in the preceding 12 months: Imaging findings that support eligibility, Difficulty breathing despite artificial ventilation (CPAP, BiPAP, ventilator, etc) or declines artificial ventilation, Inability to swallow effectively with nutritional impairment despite artificial nutrition (TPN, enteral feeding) or declines artificial nutrition. Diagnosis List is pointed to or linked as the primary diagnosis on the claim form, the associated claim line(s) will be . In: StatPearls [Internet]. Hospice Eligibility Criteria Patient has a terminal illness with a life expectancy of 6 months or less CANCER Pt meets ALL of the following: 1. Charts 1 and 2 show that the average LOS varies by diagnosis. Can receive hospice services while on liver transplant list, but would not continue with hospice if undergoes transplant. or ">HuA@ 8"%As u;#X%#]o c Cars &vehicles (9) 455 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<42F557DB3E84474C9E1B268854B0F591>]/Index[433 44]/Info 432 0 R/Length 111/Prev 145811/Root 434 0 R/Size 477/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code O32.4. Hospice professionals continue to be concerned about the number of people accessing hospice care late in the course of an illness. Routine Home Care accounted for 98.3 percent of days of care provided. lock As a result, the most common hospice claims-reported diagnoses have changed from primarily cancer diagnoses to neurological and organ-based failure diagnoses. Unacceptable principal diagnosis codes. official website and that any information you provide is encrypted For several decades, hospices primarily served people with cancer diagnoses. Condition Code (FL 18-28) H2 Discharge for cause (i.e. Overall the process of enrolling patients into hospice and determining hospice-appropriate diagnoses requires critical thinking by the physician, with maintaining a current list of conditions and removing inappropriate history codes when applicable. Nursing care. You can decide how often to receive updates. endstream endobj startxref Certain codes require criteria that must be met before request are approved. On Friday, November 5, NHPCO is encouraging all hospice providers and supporters to participate in the annual Social Media Action Day to increase visibility of hospice and palliative care and share the benefits. Aug 12, 2013. Hospice care agencies. Most recently, CMS has migrated away from only a primary hospice diagnosis and instead toward inclusion of all relevant and non-related conditions that impact prognosis or the underlying terminal condition. An announcement was also made at the September 2017 ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee meeting that FY 2018 would be the last GEMs file update. The principal hospice diagnosis should list the diagnosis that most contributes to a life expectancy of six months or less. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Contact Us. Goy ER, Bohlig A, Carter J, Ganzini L. Identifying predictors of hospice eligibility in patients with Parkinson disease. Recurrent aspiration and/or aspiration pneumonia, Ideally, poor prognosis is supported by Neurologist evaluation within three months of hospice referral, Need for assistance with at least two activities of daily living, Functional impairment to the point of not being able to work or carry on normal activity. Purpose This rule proposes updates to the hospice wage index, payment rates, and cap amount for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 as required under section 1814(i) of the Social Security Act (the Act). HHS Vulnerability Disclosure, Help ICD-10-CM official coding and reporting guidelines April 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020. Typically, there is an interprofessional team focus led by a physician medical director. PDGM ICD Lookup. Official websites use .govA CMS now refers to them only as "acceptable" or "unacceptable" codes. Abt Associates, under contract with CMS, is currently recruiting a wide range of hospice stakeholders, including providers, patient advocates, national and state associations, other hospice staff members, and patients and caregivers for participation in a TEP to contribute feedback and thoughtful input during SFP development. ) Secure .gov websites use HTTPSA Category. What could the patient do six months ago that he/she can no longer do? In fact, static diagnoses over time might falsely convey stability of a patients condition and theoretical reevaluation of the patient as being an appropriate hospice candidate. National Library of Medicine Common diagnoses that are unacceptable primary diagnoses for Home Health under PDGM: . hbbd```b``>V f[H0 "YH0Vc&"`5`'l; $7M $Rb3X0 l@_H6(CW? 9/ Heres how you know. hb``Pd``: $zcP#0p4 )B1) :Jz\VYXjX02(aQ~qGW#ww/~Ug31!bb%#2YQ ! If you do not use a primary Dx code from this list . .gov Your doctor certifies that you have a terminal illness, with six months or less to live if the disease runs its normal course. Hospice Webinar Series 2021 Presenter: Sharon M Litwin, RN, BSHS, MHA, HCS-D Hospice Coding Refresher February 5, 2021 Objectives Coding Conventions & Guidelines Hospice Coding Primary Diagnosis/Terminal Illness Hospice Coding Secondary/Comorbid Diagnosis Disease Specific Criteria for Hospice 1 2 98% of hospice care was provided at the Routine Home Care level. Variations Among Physicians in Hospice Referrals of Patients With Advanced Cancer. The 2020 ICD-10-CM files below contain information on the ICD-10-CM updates for FY 2020. Clinical findings of malignancy with widespread, aggressive or progressive disease as evidenced by increasing sx, worsening lab values and/or evidence of metastatic disease 2. The Medicare hospice benefit includes these items and services to reduce pain or disease severity and manage the terminal illness and related conditions: Medicare may pay for other reasonable and necessary hospice services in the patients POC. Secure .gov websites use HTTPSA 2 or more secondary diagnoses on the HH-specific comorbidity subgroup interaction list that are associated with higher resource use when both are reported together compared to if they were reported separately. ) X0Lj*RA^?_ Q~x(V(d q C%Be`~} H /H33b|Ey'Bf fN@|{J3|,gw+G$XliF ,v`H ]PU W~D on Top 20 Principal Hospice Diagnoses for 2017, Top 20 Principal Hospice Diagnoses for 2017, Tech & Innovation in Healthcare eNewsletter, IDR Payment Determinations Resume Under No Surprises Act, MRI for Patients with Cardiac Device, Covered, Add These OIG Watch Items to Your Audit List, Get Paid for COVID-19 Testing/Treatment of Uninsured, President Signs Bill to Fix the SGR for Six Months, J44.9 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, G31.1 Senile degeneration of brain, not elsewhere classified, C34.90 Malignant neoplasm of unspecified part of unspecified bronchus or lung, G30.1 Alzheimers disease with late onset, I25.10 Atherosclerotic heart disease of native coronary art without angina pectoris, J44.1 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with (acute) exacerbation, C18.9 Malignant neoplasm of colon, unspecified, C25.9 Malignant neoplasm of pancreas, unspecified, I11.0 Hypertensive heart disease with heart failure, I67.9 Cerebrovascular disease, unspecified, I13.0 Hypertensive heart and chronic kidney disease with heart failure and stage 1 through stage 4 chronic kidney disease, or unspecified chronic kidney disease. "Dementia in diseases classified elsewhere without behavioral disturbance," and 294.11/F02.81, "Dementia in diseases classified elsewhere with behavioral disturbance.". Each patient must be seen as a unique person. This document outlines the specifications for reporting diagnosis and procedure codes in T-MSIS claims files. allegiant flights from sioux falls to mesa az; list of acceptable hospice diagnosis 2020. list of acceptable hospice diagnosis 2020 frozen the musical packages. government site. All Categories. hbbd```b``"H u&H]`]b f7`L&dH.0 1.61 million Medicare beneficiaries received hospice care in 2019, an increase of 3.9 percent from the previous year. This includes care provided in the patients own home, an assisted living facility, nursing home, or other congregate living facility. Disclaimer. and Plug-Ins. Refer to the Medical Policies page to access the hospice LCD. Copyright 2023, AAPC Twenty-five percent of beneficiaries received care for five days or less, and 50 percent received care for 18 days or less. 03/18/2020 : 114 Category. All of the following . Primary Diagnosis Codes on the Hospice Claim . When a patient chooses to go to the hospital for a need related to the hospice diagnosis, it would be considered GIP. 0 ), which permits others to distribute the work, provided that the article is not altered or used commercially. CMS issued aFiscal Year (FY) 2023 Hospice Payment Rate Update final rule to update Medicare hospice payments, wage index, quality reporting programs, and policies. -, Cheraghlou S, Gahbauer EA, Leo-Summers L, Stabenau HF, Chaudhry SI, Gill TM. 1. MA enrollees who utilized the hospice benefit rose from 51.1 percent in 2015 to 53.2 percent in 2019. Often, these physicians who manage and monitor care during the length of service have additional training beyond residency by completing a dedicated fellowship, thereby earning board certification in the medical subspecialty of hospice and palliative medicine. Hospice/Hospice-Wage-Index.html.) Heres how you know. Brief Issue Description. I13.0 Hypertensive heart and chronic kidney disease with heart failure and stage 1 through stage 4 chronic kidney disease, or unspecified chronic kidney disease. Examining hospice enrollment through a novel lens: Decision time. Streptococcus, group A, as the cause of diseases classified elsewhere. The physician or other authorized ordering party is responsible for providing correct codes that support the medical necessity of each test ordered for the diagnosis and treatment of the individual patient. Hospice is a medical service based on a holistic approach to providing quality end-of-life care to patients. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. hb``` eap^5 Visit the Hospice Benefit Component webpage for more information. Though cancer still dominates the rankings, new advancements in the treatment of cancer have led to gradual declines in the number of hospice admissions and deaths from this . Utilization of the hospice benefit remains slightly higher among individuals enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans than among traditional Medicare users, while the trendline for hospice usage continues to increase in both groups. D. Requiring assistance with additional ADLs, E. Worsening refractory stage 3 to stage 4 pressure ulcers despite wound care, F. Increasing healthcare utilization in the form of emergency visits, hospital admissions, and physician appointments related to the primary hospice diagnosis before seeking hospice benefit. The daily payment rates cover the hospices costs for providing services included in patient care plans. Effective October 1, 2014, these diagnoses are no longer permitted as principal diagnosis codes on hospice claims. Patients with Medicare Part A can get hospice care benefits if they meet the following criteria: After certification, the patient may elect the hospice benefit for: All hospice care and services offered to patients and their families must follow an individualized written plan of care (POC) that meets the patients needs. Since the implementation of the hospice benefit in 1983, the number of Medicare beneficiaries receiving hospice services has grown from 513,000 in 2000 to nearly 1.5 million in 2017. Contact Us diagnosis 89% of hospice claims were reporting at least 2 diagnoses 81% of hospice claims were reporting at least 3 diagnoses FY 2019 100% of hospice claims were reporting more than 1 diagnosis 95.3% of hospice claims were reporting at least 2 diagnoses 84.1% of hospice claims were reporting at least 3 diagnoses 20 If you have questions, reach out to Compassus at 833.380.9583. To learn more about hospice and care for those coping with serious illness, please visit NHPCOs CaringInfo.org website. Here are four of her biggest recommendations. Hospice organizations can assist in determining eligibility for patients suffering from terminal illnesses. Learn about hospice guidelines for your patients with end-stage heart disease, including CHF, and download a PDF of these guidelines for easy reference. There is no FY 2020 GEMs file. As with each new set of guidelines, revised standards, or updated ICD codes, there are further changes to the interpretation and guidance of hospice diagnoses and regulations. The Hospice SFP project is under CMS contract number 75FCMC18D0014 and task order number 75FCMC19F0001. Palliat Support Care. All diagnoses During the same period, traditional Medicare beneficiaries utilizing the hospice benefit rose from 47.6 percent of Medicare decedents in 2015 to 50.7 percent in 2019. Foreign passport that contains a For more information, please view our Cookies Statement. This list is not all inclusive. or Restricting Symptoms Before and After Admission to Hospice. Before For the top twenty diagnoses in 2009, the . Value code G8 and CBSA code required for rev. You can decide how often to receive updates. Diagnoses might change and need to be documented, with additions and deletions, as a patient progresses through the terminal stages of their conditions. Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) or Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) of < 40% . The .gov means its official. 5. CMS establishes payment rates for each of the categories of hospice care described in 418.302 (b). Hospice referrals should balance a physician's experienced clinical judgement, Medicare regulations, and input from the patient and family. 100-04, Chapter 11, Section 30.3 Claim Change Reason Code (CCRC) (FL 18-28) & Adjustment Reason Code (ARC . mozzart jackpot winners yesterday; new mandela effects 2021; how to delete a payee on barclays app I. B95.1 Streptococcus, group B, as the cause of diseases classified elsewhere. U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport Card 3. endstream endobj startxref 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244, An official website of the United States government, ICD-10-CM and ICD-10 PCS and GEMs Archive, ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee Meetings, Process for Requesting New/Revised ICD-10-PCS Procedure Codes, ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee Meeting Materials, ICD-9-CM Diagnosis and Procedure Codes: Abbreviated and Full Code Titles, Updates and Revisions to ICD-9-CM Procedure Codes (Addendum), 2020 Code Descriptions in Tabular Order (ZIP), UPDATED Coding Guidelines for COVID-19 Effective April 1, 2020, ICD-10-CM Chapter 22 New Vaping Code Index and Tabular. hb```sBB ea -`4 * lock 20. The site is secure. See additional coding rules. Hospice and palliative medicine: new subspecialty, new opportunities. 2022 May 18. o Continuous Home Care Continuous care is provided to the hospice patient during periods of The rates are established using the methodology described in section 1814 (i) (1) (C) of the Act and in accordance with section 1814 (i) (6) (D) of the Act. Your Trusted Business Partner In Home Health and Hospice www.corridorgroup.com 6405 Metcalf Ave, Suite 108 Overland Park, KS 66202 P: 913-362-0600 F: 913-362-5378 As we approach the transition to the PDGM for Medicare patients in January 2020, the home health Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-551) 1. Those interested in serving on one of our Board Committees or Advisory Councils should click thru to the committee or council page of interest, linked below, and review the expectations for participation before submitting an application. Renee has more than 30 years' experience in journalistic reporting, print production, graphic design, and content management. Contact: Wallace CL. Palliative Care Certification and Accreditation, Beneficiary Notices and Coverage (ABN NOMNC), Medicare Hospice Regulations and Federal Resources, Regulatory and Policy Alerts and Updates from NHPCO, Relatedness: Conditions, Medications, Drugs, Services, Terminal Illness and Related Conditions, Prognosis, and Eligibility, Community-Based Palliative Care Certificate Program, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. As the first year of PDGM has unfolded there have been many twists and turns in the new complexity of coding in home care. In 1998, the average LOS for hospice patients was 48 days, but by 2006 it had risen to 73 days (a 52% increase). Encounter for palliative care. Key points from the report include the following: In 2019 we saw continued growth in the number of Medicare hospice patients with non-cancer diagnoses, including a principal diagnosis of Alzheimers, dementia, or Parkinsons, which represented more than four times the number of patients who had cancer. Epub 2009 Jan 29. Permanent 5% cap on negative . The Medicare hospice benefit includes these items and services to reduce pain or disease severity and manage the terminal illness and related conditions: Services from a hospice-employed physician, nurse practitioner (NP), or other physicians chosen by the patient. Maternal care for failure of head to enter pelvic brim. Understanding Palliative Care and Hospice: AReview for Primary Care Providers. Official websites use .govA Mehta A, Chai E, Berglund K, Rizzo E, Moreno J, Gelfman LP. The patient does not owe any coinsurance when they got it during general inpatient care or respite care. J Pain Symptom Manage. StatPearls Publishing, Treasure Island (FL). Unable to load your collection due to an error, Unable to load your delegates due to an error. B95.2 Enterococcus as the cause of diseases . Services from a hospice-employed physician, nurse practitioner (NP), or other physicians chosen by the patient, Individual and family or just family grief and loss counseling before and after the patients death, Short-term inpatient pain control and symptom management and respite care, The patient gets hospice care in a home setting that isnt an inpatient facility (hospital, SNF, or hospice inpatient unit), The care consists mainly of nursing care on a continuous basis at home. The FTF encounter must document the clinical findings supporting a life expectancy of 6 months or less. Coding has always been important in home care, but is increasingly being scrutinized. Diagnosis Codes That Cannot Be Used As . Restricting Symptoms Before and After Admission to Hospice. J Palliat Med. Since the mid-1990s, Medicare has allowed the hospice benefit to cover more types of diagnoses, and therefore more . 2009 Jul;54(1):94-102. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2008.11.019. These are examples of the 43,287 ICD-10 diagnoses that are acceptable Home Health primary diagnosis: Title: Gento-Bifold-11-4-19 Created Date: 1/1/2020 8:26:00 PM . In the new PDGM (Patient Driven Groupings Model) payment model effective 2020, the Primary Dx will be very important in order to determine what payment group your claim will fall under. These codes are only to be used when the medical record, at the time of the encounter, is insufficient to assign a more specific code. Generally, Medicare pays hospice agencies a daily rate for each day a patient is enrolled in the hospice benefit. 433 0 obj <> endobj This level of care includes room and board costs. Some diagnoses are chronic and stable without a meaningful impact on terminal prognosis. means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Accessed June 23 . This represents an increase of 18.3 percent since 2014. As noted earlier, CMS has consistently updated its approach to hospice-appropriate diagnoses. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 2023 National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. See asummary of key provisions effective October 1, 2022: Recruitment Announcement Technical Expert Panel (TEP) for Hospice Special Focus Program (SFP) Development. As recently as 2007, cancer continued to be the leading principal diagnosis of those receiving care. The primary diagnosis must have one of twelve PDGM classifications according to home health care coding guidelines. Mi cuenta; Carrito; Finalizar compra 2000 Winter;3(4):441-7. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2000.3.4.441. Hospice is a medical service based on a holistic approach to providing quality end-of-life care to patients. Hospice Principal Diagnosis Identify the condition that is the main contributor to the person's terminal prognosis. Clipboard, Search History, and several other advanced features are temporarily unavailable. See the Data Table Report; Data_DX10 to reference the list of diagnosis codes applicable to the MCE Unacceptable principal diagnosis list and to reference the diagnosis codes that are exclusions due to current OPPS coding requirements. Hospice Eligibility Guidelines by Diagnosis, Malignancy with poor prognosis at diagnosis, Progression to metastatic cancer despite therapy or patient not receiving therapy, Not a candidate for or declines further chemotherapy, Not a candidate for or declines further radiation (Note: some hospices will cover limited radiation therapy to palliate symptoms), Not a candidate for or declines surgery to treat cancer, Need for assistance with at least two activities of daily living (unless cancer with poor prognosis) ADLs are ambulation, dressing, bathing, toileting, transferring, hygiene and feeding, Functional impairment to the point of not being able to work or carry on normal activity (unless cancer with poor prognosis), Poor prognosis supported by presence of comorbid conditions like COPD, CHF, CAD, DM, Parkinsons, stroke, renal failure, liver disease, dementia or AIDS, Maximally treated for heart disease, is not a candidate for further treatment or intervention, or has declined further cardiac interventions. This is the text area to add more information about this section. The Nomination Form is available at this link: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/SurveyCertificationGenInfo/Spotlight, The nomination form and general questions about the Hospice SFP TEP shall be sent to. Appropriate documentation is required for these codes. means youve safely connected to the .gov website. terminal diagnosis. Author. Enrollment into hospice service is not as simple as a patients primary physician making a prognosis of fewer than six months to live. Many diagnoses and conditions can impact the care of patients during the last stages of life. In the new PDGM (Patient Driven Groupings Model) payment model effective 2020, the Primary Dx will be very important in order to determine what payment group your claim will fall under. https:// http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Diagnosis: Survival with Hospice : Survival without Hospice: CHF: 402 Days: 321 Days: Lung Cancer: 279 Days: 240 Days: Pancreatic Cancer: 210 Days: 189 Days: Colon Cancer: 414 Days: . NHPCO published Facts and Figures just prior to the start of National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, marked each year in November. An official website of the United States government In essence, most patients have multiple conditions, which could potentially be hospice-appropriate diagnoses. endstream endobj 434 0 obj <>/Metadata 20 0 R/Names 456 0 R/Outlines 36 0 R/Pages 429 0 R/StructTreeRoot 37 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences 457 0 R>> endobj 435 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 612 792]/Parent 429 0 R/Resources<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 13/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> endobj 436 0 obj <>stream Cancer: 36.6 percent. Maternal care for high head at term. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. [1][2][3][4], Most of the issues of concern regarding hospice-appropriate diagnoses revolve around gaining and maintaining approval and billing and coding concerns. ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code O35.1. Your primary diagnosis code MUST be on this list. A person is considered terminally ill if their life expectancy is six months or less if the disease runs its normal course. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Please click on the Accept and Close button to affirm your consent and continue to use our website. By on July 1, 2021. ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code O34.7. The latest NHPCO Facts and Figures report is a resource for policymakers and healthcare leaders nationwide who are mapping the future of patient-centered, interdisciplinary care to help patients live life to its fullest right up to the end.. 0 We invite you to contact our team of Hospice Physicians with any questions about a patient's eligibility or about hospice care, at (888 . C. Comorbidities: when the condition is not the designated primary hospice diagnosis, the presence of significant disease thought to contribute to a prognosis of 6 months or less survival should be considered, such as[8][9][10][11]: This book is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Buss MK, Rock LK, McCarthy EP. For a patient to be eligible for hospice, consider the following guidelines: The illness is terminal (a prognosis of 6 months) and the patient and/or family has elected palliative care. Thats why the hospices across the country work tirelessly to provide person- and family-centered, interdisciplinary care to help them during a time of great need.. Stay ahead of the game and ensure . As of January 1, 2021, participating Medicare Advantage Organizations can include the Medicare hospice benefit in their Part A benefits package. Widespread muscle denervation weakness, fasciculations, etc. While the assessment of appropriate hospice diagnoses can be confusing for healthcare providers that are not required to stay abreast of the literature constantly, hospice physicians and organizations can offer valuable services to help answer questions and provide guidance. Jon Radulovic Hospice care for heart disease addresses a wide range of symptoms, including shortness of breath, chest pain, weakness, functional decline and the management of fluid status. Come January 1st, 2020 primary diagnosis codes will be categorized as either "acceptable" or "unacceptable". Some treatments for chronic conditions may cause more harm than good during the terminal stages of life. We made the GEMs files available for FY 2016, FY 2017 and FY 2018. 142 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<44A1530AAAB28041BB962D82D60B3EBC><7104D47576CF0547B32B8685CFCAA49E>]/Index[107 55]/Info 106 0 R/Length 150/Prev 174524/Root 108 0 R/Size 162/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream CMS issued a Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Hospice Payment Rate Update final rule to update Medicare hospice payments, wage index, quality reporting programs, and policies. TIP: What could the patient do 12 months ago that he/she can no longer do? Posted on June 16, 2022 by June 16, 2022 by In the CY 2022 HH PPS Final Rule, it was stated that additional collaboration would be sought to further develop the methodology for the SFP through a Technical Expert Panel (TEP). Hospice SFP TEP nomination forms must be received by August 12, 2022, to be considered for TEP inclusion. %PDF-1.6 % Earn CEUs and the respect of your peers. Mayo Clin Proc. The nomination form and general questions about the Hospice SFP TEP shall be sent to HospiceSFP@abtassoc.com. 1. The objectives of the TEP are to provide input on the SFP algorithm that will be used to identify hospices that have substantially failed to meet applicable Medicare requirements based on identified criteria and measures, to help develop public reporting requirements for the SFP, and to recommend methods to communicate this information to the general public. As the process of gaining approval can be complicated, it is generally smiled upon to refer eligible patients to hospice services soon after a terminal diagnosis is rendered to help integrate excellent longitudinal care. This list is not all inclusive. NUBC clarified the following Hospice .