Physician - Hospice/Palliative Care Medical Director

Position Summary

The Hospice and Palliative Care Medical Director will provide clinical leadership and oversight for all levels of care of the hospice and palliative care programs, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered and end-of-life care. This physician collaborates with the palliative care interdisciplinary team to support patients and families living with serious illness or injury and collaborates with the interdisciplinary hospice team to support patients and families facing life-limiting illnesses, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and adherence to best practices in palliative and hospice medicine. This role is ideal for a physician dedicated to supportive care, compassionate end-of-life care, clinical excellence, and collaborative leadership within an interdisciplinary hospice team and palliative care team.

Key Responsibilities

Clinical Leadership & Oversight

• Provide medical direction and oversight for all hospice and palliative care clinical services.
• Certify and recertify patient eligibility for hospice services in accordance with regulatory guidelines.
• Serve as a consultative clinical resource for physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and other team members.
• Attend at least once a month a palliative care interdisciplinary team meeting and a hospice interdisciplinary team meeting and case conference.
• Peer review- review quality of documentation of physicians and nurse practitioners visits to include review of appropriate clinical protocols and processes that support referrals to ensure consistent quality care.

Patient Care & Consultation

• Provide direct patient care as needed, including supportive care, symptom management and complex case consultations.
• Collaborate with team physicians and referring providers to coordinate care.
• Ensure appropriate pain and symptom control consistent with current hospice and palliative care standards.
• Support patients and families in understanding prognosis and care goals, when needed in the absence of the team physician.

Regulatory Compliance & Quality Assurance

• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and hospice regulations, including Medicare Conditions of Participation (COPs).
• Participate in quality improvement initiatives and performance reviews.
• Assist with audits, surveys, and accreditation processes.
• Maintain accurate and timely documentation.

Education & Program Development

• Provide education and mentorship to clinical staff.
• Promote best practices in palliative and end-of-life care.
• Assist in the development of policies, procedures, and clinical protocols.
• Represent the hospice and palliative care programs in community outreach and professional/education forums as needed.
• Collaborate with both hospice leadership and palliative care leadership teams on performance improvement initiatives (QAPI).
• Lead strategic initiatives with program growth development, including Outpatient Palliative Care service line addition.
• Attend key hospital committees and medical department meetings.

Qualifications

Required

• MD or DO degree from an accredited medical school.
• Active, unrestricted medical license in the state of practice.
• Minimum of 3–5 years of clinical experience in gerontology or primary care, preferably in hospice or palliative care.
• Board certification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine or a related specialty, preferred.
• DEA registration and ability to prescribe controlled substances.
• Strong knowledge of hospice regulations and end-of-life care standards.
• Leadership or administrative experience in healthcare setting.
• Experience with Medicare and Medicaid regulations.

Skills & Competencies

• Compassionate, patient-centered approach to care.
• Strong leadership and team collaboration skills.
• Excellent communication skills to include active listening and public speaking.
• Strong conflict resolution skills, and interpersonal abilities.
• Sound clinical judgment and ethical decision-making.
• Ability to manage complex medical skills, including pain and symptom management, and psychosocial situations.
• Strong organizational skills, self-directed, able to manage multiple priorities.
• Commitment to maintaining professional standard and patient advocacy.
• Flexibility and adaptability to dynamic healthcare environments, to include hospital inpatient palliative care department and hospice department presence.
• Develop effective relationships with other disciplines, providers and leadership.

Work Environment

• Combination of inpatient hospital, inpatient hospice units, home visits and long-term care facilities.
• Participation in on-call rotation may be required.

Reporting Structure

• Reports to: Chief Medical Officer
• Supervises: provide clinical oversight to both hospice and palliative care teams’ physicians and nurse practitioners.
• Serve as clinical spokesperson for both hospice and palliative care programs.
• Physician representative on hospital Ethics Committee.

For more information, please email [email protected].