Certify eligibility
At admission, provide the clinical certification that the patient's prognosis is six months or less if the terminal illness runs its natural course.
What's my role in hospice care?
You remain an important part of your patient's care after hospice begins. Treasure Coast Hospice works with you, the patient and family, and the interdisciplinary team to coordinate a comfort-focused plan while preserving the clinical relationship your patient trusts.
Certify
At admission, certify that the patient has a prognosis of six months or less if the illness follows its natural course.
Co-create
Work with the patient and family, hospice physician, and interdisciplinary team to develop, review, and update the plan.
Involvement
Decide how orders, symptom management, team participation, and communication should work for your practice.
View & print guidePrintable guide
A quick-reference guide for attending physicians
Keep certification, plan-of-care responsibilities, involvement choices, Medicare Part B billing, and GV/GW modifier guidance in one printable handout.
Role map
Your role from certification through ongoing care
The attending physician can remain as involved as desired while hospice adds clinical, practical, emotional, and spiritual support.
Build the plan of care
Join the patient and family, hospice physician, and interdisciplinary team in developing, reviewing, and updating the care plan.
Guide medical decisions
Bring your clinical expertise, guidance, and knowledge of the patient's history to comfort-focused decisions.
Choose how orders are handled
Remain the contact for medication and level-of-care orders, or ask the hospice physician to assume selected pain and symptom management responsibilities.
Stay informed
Receive updates about changes in the patient's condition and written case-conference summaries from the hospice team.
Join team conferences
Participate in interdisciplinary meetings in person or by phone whenever your perspective would help the plan.
What continues
You choose your involvement
When patients elect the Medicare Hospice Benefit, they may designate the physician they identify as having the most significant role in their medical care. Your relationship can continue while hospice extends the care around them.
Continue seeing your patient
Let patients and loved ones know that you can continue to see and care for them after hospice begins.
Set the clinical handoff
Choose a point on the involvement continuum, from receiving calls for all orders to asking the hospice physician to lead palliative pain and symptom management.
Set communication preferences
Tell the hospice team how, why, and when you want updates so communication supports rather than burdens your practice.
Billing & involvement
Common questions from attending physicians
These answers reflect the role and billing guidance in Treasure Coast Hospice's attending-physician handout.
Clinical involvement
How is the attending physician designated?
The patient designates the physician of medicine or osteopathy they identify as having the most significant role in determining their medical care.
Who handles medication and level-of-care orders?
You may remain the contact for these orders or ask the hospice physician to assume responsibility for palliative pain and symptom management. The level of involvement is a choice you make with the hospice team.
Professional billing
Can I continue billing for professional services?
The handout directs attending physicians to bill Medicare Part B for professional office, home, inpatient, or nursing-home services in the usual manner and to add the appropriate modifier.
When are the GV and GW modifiers used?
Use GV when the designated attending is not employed by hospice and the service is related to the patient's terminal illness. Use GW when the designated attending is not employed by hospice and the service is not related to the terminal illness.
Billing rules and payer requirements can change. Confirm current CMS and payer guidance before submitting claims.
Why stay involved
Hospice extends your care instead of replacing it
When people are asked where they would want care with a prognosis of six months or less, nine out of ten name home (Institute of Medicine) — and staying involved as the attending physician is often what makes that possible. Remaining the attending lets you continue billing for professional services, stay active in the plan of care, and keep communication strong with the hospice team. Because hospice adds 24/7 symptom support, medications, and equipment in the home, most practices also see fewer after-hours calls and fewer avoidable hospitalizations and ER visits, while the patient and family stay connected to the physician they trust.
Refer
A clear role from admission forward
A few decisions at the beginning give the patient continuity and give both teams a practical way to work together.
Certify the prognosis
Document the clinical basis for a prognosis of six months or less if the illness follows its natural course.
Choose your involvement
Decide which orders and comfort decisions you want to manage and what the hospice physician should assume.
Choose your communication
Tell the hospice team how and when you want updates, conference summaries, and calls about changes in condition.
Remain connected to your patient, with more support around them
Treasure Coast Hospice coordinates with attending physicians and their practices to create a clear plan, responsive communication, and the best possible quality of life for patients and loved ones.