The transition to Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) will require providers to have a comprehensive understanding and clear grasp of the HOPE requirements to remain compliant.
Kate Warnock, Senior Director of Communications and Brand Strategy in Marketing at Forcura, led a HOPE-focused with Raianne Melton, RN, BSN, CHPN, Senior Director of Professional Services at 小猪视频; Stephanie Adair, Vice President of Hospice Services at Liberty Home Care, LLC; Eric Graham, Director of Central Intake at Liberty Home Care, LLC; and Ryan Plummer, Senior Director of Product Management at Forcura.
The group discussed the rationale behind HOPE and the steps organizations can take to ensure they navigate the changes with confidence.
The Why Behind HOPE
The group outlined the 鈥渨hy鈥� behind HOPE, highlighting that the tool is designed to help improve hospice quality reporting and measurement. This change represents a shift in clinical documentation, moving from retrospective summaries to real-time assessments. To be successful at HOPE, organizations will need to reevaluate how care is delivered, tracked and documented.
鈥淗OPE isn鈥檛 just about checking boxes,鈥� said Melton. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about aligning what鈥檚 documented with what鈥檚 actually happening with the patient 鈥� in real time, not in hindsight.鈥�
Adair echoed those sentiments, adding that HOPE represents a positive and meaningful step for providers in delivering more patient-centered care.
鈥淢y first impression of HOPE is that it represents a meaningful step in how we assess a patient鈥檚 needs,鈥� Adair said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more person-centered with an emphasis on patient experience. I can appreciate CMS moving toward a more holistic and consistent approach to care management.鈥�
HOPE Action Steps
Melton laid out key steps that organizations can take to increase their HOPE preparedness:
1. Start now. 2. Review current processes. 3. Correct current issues. 4. Understand how your EMR will manage HOPE. 5. Lean into training. 6. Engage staff.
Expanding on these key points, the group emphasized the importance of providing early and thorough staff training and leveraging technology to assist in the transition.
鈥淵ou could have the best tech in the world,鈥� Plummer said. 鈥淏ut if your people and your processes aren鈥檛 maximizing that tech, you鈥檙e not going to get that ROI that you鈥檙e looking for. Aligning people, processes and technology is key.鈥�
Lowry and Totaro echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that training programs and leadership classes are an essential piece to retaining staff.
The group noted that providers should look to technology partners that integrate well together and provide visibility across departments and workflows.
Melton and Graham emphasized leveraging the intake team to streamline operations, focusing on enhancing interdisciplinary coordination to save time on documentation.
鈥淸At Liberty], we鈥檒l be doing our best to support the field teams throughout this process,鈥� said Graham. 鈥淲e鈥檙e working collaboratively with them to see if we should be doing anything differently in the intake process to help them.鈥�
The group concluded the session by looking ahead to the future of hospice care, noting that changes in regulations and the development of assessment tools like HOPE represent positive steps forward and will ultimately benefit patients.
鈥淲e can never lose sight of the human side of things,鈥� said Adair. 鈥淩egulations may guide our operations, but compassion is our calling.鈥�
To learn more about how your organization can prepare for HOPE, visit the HOPE resource page here.