The Hospice Team Contract Physician provides direct medical care as needed to patients in their homes, nursing homes, Hospice Houses and in the hospital, as well as provides physician direction and guidance to the Hospice program, staff, contractors and volunteers to ensure the maintenance of quality care for patients and families. The Contract Physician will work 10 hours/week, 40 hours/month.  

• Works with Admissions staff on Certification of Terminality and provides advice regarding the Initial Care Plan for newly admitted patients.  
• Advises and facilitates the implementation of hospice-appropriate management of patients’ medical and symptom needs, especially regarding selection of medications. May interact with attending physician when medical management concerns arise.  
• Provides medical information and education to the team members on disease’s natural history, treatment, prognosis and palliation.  
• Visits and/or examines patient to evaluate and manage specific symptom needs or ongoing problems.  
• Assesses for the appropriateness of terminal diagnosis or prognosis.  
• Serves as attending physician to patients/families as requested by them.  
• Provides on-call coverage as needed.  
• Re-certifies terminality of Hospice patients at required intervals by renewing status, writing summary, and signing appropriately.  
• Communicates to Chief Medical Officer cases that require evaluation for continuing appropriateness.  
• Communicates possible changes in status that may require patient to be discharged from hospice program to attending or another physician.  
• Communicates hospice medical management options and philosophy to patients and families so they may participate in decisions relevant to their care.  
• Provides medical management in the form of orders, prescriptions, visitations, medical communication and interpretation.  
• Attends IDT meetings and fully supports the interdisciplinary team, utilizing members of each discipline in choosing interventions for the benefit of each patient and recognizing successes and strengths in fellow team members.  
• Provides Face-to-Face (F2F) visits as required by Medicare in a timely manner in conjunction with APRN at Medicare-determined intervals.    

Qualifications:  

1. Licensed as a physician in the state of Florida.  

2. Demonstrated knowledge and is licensed/board-certified in primary care, oncology  

specialty, or other approved medical specialty, having maintained requirements for  

ongoing certification.  

3. Maintains active hospital privileges in a hospital within service area of this hospice.  

4. Ability to make home visits.  

5. Valid Florida driver’s license with required auto liability insurance.   

BENEFITS:   

• Competitive Compensation,  
• Full benefits package,  
• 403 (b) plan match,   
• Generous PTO,  
• Tuition Reimbursement program, and  
• Learning resources to be successful in your career, plus more!   

 Cornerstone Hospice & Palliative Care is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived, race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), sexual orientation, parental status, national origin, age, disability, family medical history or genetic information, political affiliation, military service, any other non-merit based factor or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws. Our leadership team is dedicated to this policy with respect to recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, training, compensation, benefits, employee activities and general treatment during employment. If you’d like more information about your EEO rights as an applicant under the law, please click here: http://www1.eeoc.gov/employers/poster.cfm  

The home office for this position can be assigned to our administrative office in Orlando, Tavares, or Lakeland, FL

 Job Duties:

• Assists with the execution of a comprehensive audit program.
• Assists with the development and execution of audit tools in conjunction with the comprehensive audit program.
• Assists with educational programs and training presentations to assure compliance of applicable laws and regulations.
• Conducts ongoing audits of Medical Records, employee health files and other elements required by law and regulations. Presents findings as directed, by way of audit reports and PowerPoint presentations.
• Assists with the investigation of compliance and risk issues as directed.
• Serves as a resource to staff for federal, state, and local regulations on day-to-day issues.
• Assists with efforts to prepare records for external agency reviews; to include auditing, copying, and summarizing findings.
• Reviews, investigates, and prepares written documentation to respond to third party denials
• Facilitates the process for the timely and accurate completion and delivery of the Hospice Election Statement “Addendum” upon request or as otherwise required, in accordance with Medicare Conditions of Participation.
• Assists in the collection and presentation of data for compliance, quality, and safety.
• Demonstrates expertise in standard , regulatory, and statute interpretation.
• Assists with training of IDT and clinical staff members to assure understanding of regulatory requirements of their position.
• Collaborates with other departments to direct compliance issues to appropriate existing channels for investigation and resolution.
• Participates in committees as assigned.
• Participates in agency surveys, such as AHCA and the Department of Health.
• Maintains effective communication with all employees, promoting: a) use of the compliance hotline b)heighten awareness of the Code of Conduct c) understanding of new and existing compliance issues related to policies and procedures.
• Responds to the needs of the Agency and the Department by performing other duties as assigned.

 Qualifications

1. Valid Florida RN license.
2. Minimum three years of hospice experience required.
3. Hospice & Palliative Care Certification preferred.
4. Experience in healthcare compliance preferred.
5. Strong computer skills with a willingness to learn new systems. Experienced user of Microsoft Office is required, especially Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
6. Strong interpersonal skills.
7. Demonstrated ability to work independently and organize workload.
8. Demonstrated accuracy, dependability; must be detail oriented.
9. Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and effectively both in verbal and written English (including audit reports and presentations).
10. Demonstrated knowledge of appropriate communication skills:
11. Ability to communicate with both internal and external customers.
12. Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to both internal and external customers. a) Ability to effectively present information in large group situations to both internal and external customers b) Familiar with adult learning principles. c) Ability to problem solve and deal with problems involving many variables in both standard and exceptional situations.
13. Valid Florida driver’s license and required liability insurance

BENEFITS:

• Competitive Compensation
• Full Benefits package
• 403(b) plan match
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Tuition Reimbursement program
• Learning resources to be successful in your career, plus more!

Cornerstone Health Services, Inc., is an equal opportunity Employer