Physician Hospice/Palliative Medicine - Competitive Salary
Company: VITAS Healthcare
Location: Fort Worth
Posted on: July 8, 2025
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Job Description:
Job Description Medical Director Job Description The medical
director of VITAS fulfills two primary functions, each of which is
expected to consume approximately one half of the time and work
effort of the position: 1. The medical director has overall
responsibility for medical direction of the care and treatment of
patients and their families rendered by the hospice care team, and
shall consult and cooperate with the patient's attending physician.
The medical director provides physician direction and guidance to
the hospice program, its physician employees, and other staff and
volunteers to assure the maintenance of quality standards of care
for patients and families. 1. The medical director educates
practicing physicians and others engaged in health care services
regarding the hospice program and its potential benefits to
patients. In fulfilling the two primary functions explained above,
the medical director performs the following duties: Quality of
Clinical Care - Assure appropriate evaluation and certification of
terminal prognosis of patients. - Assure the quality of initial
plans of care. - Assure the quality of comprehensive plans of care.
- Assure the accuracy of documentation. - Review revocations. -
Review recertifications of terminal prognosis. - Review the quality
of pain and symptom management. - Provide medical expertise on pain
and symptom management to admission and patient care staff. -
Provide medical expertise on the evaluation of terminal prognosis
to admission and patient care staff. - Actively participate in
formal QI functions and committees. - Actively participate in
Interdisciplinary Group. - Actively participate in Ethics
Committee. - Interact with attending physicians as necessary
regarding pain and symptom manage¬ment issues and issues involving
patient prognosis - Periodically attend home care team meetings and
rounds in inpatient units. Supervision of team physicians (home
care and inpatient) - Interview and participate in the hiring and
contracting of team physicians with the general manager, patient
care administrator and/or team manager. - Orient team physicians as
to clinical responsibilities and the principles of palliative
medicine. - Periodically review the quality of clinical care
provided by the team physician. - Periodically review the quality
of the quality of the documentation of visits made by the team
physician. - Assure that documentation of visits supports the CPT
coded level of service billed. - Ensure proper team physician
participation and support in team meetings. - Ensure proper team
physician support to the VITAS nurse, team manager, and other
clinical team members. - Participate with the team manager in the
yearly formal evaluation of the team physician. - Ensure that a
physician on-call rotation is established so that there is team
physician support available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Management - Participate as an active member of the local/regional
management team (includes budget process, strategic planning, etc.)
- Actively participate in responding to audits and denials from
third party insurance and intermediaries (i.e. Medicare) - Ensure
that all contracted physicians (team physicians and consulting
physicians) are properly credentialed via the VITAS Credentialing
process. - Serve on the VITAS Credentialing Committee. - In
Wisconsin the medical director also supervises the following
functions of the consultant pharmacist: - Ensure medications are
utilized within accepted standards of practice. - Ensure a system
is developed and maintained that documents the disposal of
controlled drugs. Community Relations - Educate community
physicians on the principles of palliative medicine. - Provide
resource and consultative support to community physicians in
palliative medicine. - Attend and present at medical staff and
other medical community conferences on palliative medicine. - Serve
as liaison between the hospice and community physicians. - Make
regular contacts with practicing physicians to introduce the
hospice program, to educate physicians regarding individuals for
whom hospice may be appropriate, and to answer clinical and other
concerns of physicians with respect to hospice. - Assist in
introducing the VITAS program to long term care providers, managed
care providers, hospitals, and others. - Conduct educational
seminars, in services, and presentations to physicians, nurses, and
other health care audiences whose support for and understanding of
the hospice program is integral to assuring that hospice services
are made accessible to patients and families. Education and
Research - Assist in the development of and actively participate in
clinical training for all hospice patient care and admissions
personnel. - Actively participate in medical and nursing education
programs on palliative medicine that may be provided by VITAS to
medical and nursing colleges in the community. - Assist in the
development of and actively participate in research protocols on
both the local and corporate level. - Be a member of and
participate in professional organizations related to palliative
medicine. QUALIFICATIONS - Knowledge of the principles and practice
of primary medical care, with at least a working knowledge of
oncology. - Knowledge of palliative care with particular emphasis
on control of symptoms associated with terminal illness. - Ability
to work collaboratively with patients' attending physicians to
implement the hospice program and effect optimum medical care. -
Ability to work collaboratively with hospice employees and
volunteers as part of an interdisciplinary team. - Membership in
good standing on the medical staff of an accredited hospital in the
state in which the hospice is located. - Medical malpractice and
liability insurance in amounts and with carriers satisfactory to
VITAS. - Positive recommendation to the general manager or area
vice president from corporate medical officer. EDUCATION - License
to practice medicine in the state in which the program is
operating. - Board certification in a medical specialty which deals
with care of the terminally ill, such as Internal Medicine,
Oncology or Family Practice, with at least a working knowledge of
medical oncology and demonstrated expertise in the principles of
palliative medicine and symptom management. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO
CANDIDATES - EOE/AA M/F/D/V
Keywords: VITAS Healthcare, Waco , Physician Hospice/Palliative Medicine - Competitive Salary, Healthcare , Fort Worth, Texas
