Page 4 - March 2017

The Hospice Physician: Their Role

and Functions Within the T eam

Physicians play an inte- treatment preferences. They
gral role in helping peo- often collaborate with the
ple understand their body hospice team and are kept
and the ailments they informed of the patient’s
may be suffering. There is condition and any necessary
no doubt that without the adjustments made to their
expertise of physicians, specially tailored plan of
people would not be able care. However, not all
to have their illnesses attending physicians are
cured or live longer than comfortable with matters
expected. The role of a that surround death and
hospice physician, how- dying and may not work
ever, is very different BY DR. BARRY M. closely with the hospice
from that of a traditional KINZBRUNNER team and that’s okay , they
general practicing physi- will still remain informed
cian. This is because hos- about the patient’s health.
pice physicians care for people who are The consulting physician is typically
terminally ill. contracted by the hospice to provide a
Hospice is not a service that is readily specific medical service to a patient that
available in all parts of the world. In fact, cannot be provided by the attending
The Huffington Post lists the United physician or the hospice medical director.
States in their top 10 list of countries Long-term care facility or managed
with the best care for the dying, the first care medical directors are physicians
being United Kingdom. employed by their organizations to over-
There are many misconceptions about see the medical care provided to their
hospice, even within the medical field, patients. For patients not yet receiving
and it is important for every health care hospice care who have medical needs
professional and provider to understand similar to hospice patients, a palliative
the intricacies of providing hospice care medical consultant - either in private
to terminally ill patients. practice or employed by a hospice, hos-
A hospice physician is part of an inter- pital, or long-term or managed care facil-
disciplinary team comprised of nurses, ity - may be consulted by the patient’s
social workers, chaplains, volunteers attending physician to provide palliative
and other specially trained palliative care medicine consultations.
experts. There are two types of physi- Hospice is about making life livable
cians in a hospice team: the medical for patients whose health is steadily
director and the team physician. Each declining. The cooperation of each
has a specific role, although sometimes physician within the hospice team and
one hospice physician will fill both roles. those collaborating as consultants is
For instance, the medical director is important for the team to successfully
responsible for the oversight of the med- provide topnotch medical care to help
ical care patients receive, while the team keep patients comfortable and pain-free,
physician provides the hands-on medical at the end of life.
care that the patient needs. Both medical VITAS Healthcare is the nation’s lead-
professionals can either be employed or ing provider of end-of-life care. Since
contracted by the hospice. 1978, the company has helped to define
In addition to the physicians within levels of care provided to terminally ill
the hospice team, there are other types of patients throughout the nation. March
doctors who play an important role in 30th marks National Doctor’s Day, and
the patient’s care, such as the patient’s the team at VITAS Healthcare in South
attending physician, a consulting physi- Florida would like to recognize its hos-
cian, long-term care facility or managed pice physicians for providing exemplary
care medical directors, and even pallia- care throughout the region.
tive medical consultants.
A patient’s attending physician has the Barry M. Kinzbrunner, M.D.,FACP , is
most significant role in determining the VITAS Chief Medical Officer and Executive
patient’s medical care because they have Vice President. For more information about
in-depth knowledge about the patient’s hospice care or VITAS Healthcare, visit
condition, their health care goals and www.vitas.com/fl or call 1-800-93-VITAS.

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4 March 2017 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News