[webblarsk]

What is the concensus for lab work on hospice patients (in the home).

[BobL]

We do lab work quite often and for different reasons. It is very appropriate to use lab work for diagnostic reasons in order to provide the correct treatment. We also will draw labs if there is a question of eligibility especially in the case a patients with failure to thrive ie... albumin levels.

If there are labs that need to be drawn that are not related to the hospice dx. we will do them so that the patient does not have to leave home. It's all about quality of life for as long as possible. Sometimes labs help us to determine what we need to do to maintain the highest level of function.

[webblarsk]

Originally Posted by BobL

We do lab work quite often and for different reasons. It is very appropriate to use lab work for diagnostic reasons in order to provide the correct treatment. We also will draw labs if there is a question of eligibility especially in the case a patients with failure to thrive ie... albumin levels.

If there are labs that need to be drawn that are not related to the hospice dx. we will do them so that the patient does not have to leave home. It's all about quality of life for as long as possible. Sometimes labs help us to determine what we need to do to maintain the highest level of function.

Thanks for the input. I feel strongly about labs but have run into some friction with dr's about drawing labs.

[aimeee]

Our rule of thumb is we will pay for a lab if it is related to the terminal diagnosis and the information from the lab will help control symptoms in some way. We do blood draws as a courtesy for labs pertaining to other diagnosis and medicare can be billed for them by the lab under those diagnosis codes.