Medical Director

The role :

To ensure qualified medical direction and consultation for the delivery of client services and programs. To demonstrate that the Medical Director / client team physician (physician designee) has overall responsibility for patient care through documentation that demonstrates interaction / communication with the attending physician as necessary for appropriate care.

To outline the responsibilities of the Medical Director. The Client Medical Director will have overall responsibility for the medical component of the client program. The Client Medical Director will provide oversight of physician services by complementing attending physician care, acting as a medical resource to the interdisciplinary group, assuring continuity of client medical services, and assuring appropriate measures to control patient symptoms. The Medical Director will serve as a client champion – promoting and representing the program to physicians, physician groups, discharge planners, other referral sources, community health organizations, and potential donors, as appropriate.

The Client Medical Director / client Team Physician (physician designee) will be either a part-time or full-time employee of the client or have a contract with the client outlining his / her responsibilities. The Client Team Physician (physician designee) will be available whenever the client Medical Director is unable to perform his / her duties due to illness or vacation, or upon request. Client will have a written service agreement with a qualified physician to provide medical direction and consultation for organization programs and services.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The duties and responsibilities of the Medical Director will include, but not be limited to, the following :

• Devote his / her best ability to the proper management of the program.
• Providing overall medical direction to the program including supervision of all client physician employees and contract client physicians.
• Assuring that the established policies, bylaws, rules, and regulations of the organization are followed in the program.
• Adhering to requirements, terms, and conditions required by Medicare Conditions of Participation, CHAP, and federal and state statutes governing the provision of services.
• Establishing and continually reviewing policies and procedures related to patient care, medical education, and emergency procedures.
• Developing and continually reviewing, in cooperation with the Executive Director / Administrator and / or Clinical Supervisor, criteria to monitor the quality of the educational programs provided to physicians, personnel, and volunteers.
• Evaluating quality assessment performance improvement (QAPI) plans and monitoring to identify medical education needs in cooperation with the Executive Administrator / Director and / or Clinical Director. Participates in QAPI teams and activities, as needed.
• Proposing organizational programs to address the needs identified (with the assistance and input of consultants of the specialties where medical education needs were identified).
• Working with the Executive Director / Administrator and / or Clinical Supervisor, after implementation of the programs, to determine the impact of said programs on the quality of care.
• Serving as a client champion in the community.
• Acting as a liaison to community physicians by providing consultation and education to colleagues and attending physicians related to admission criteria for client and palliative care.
• Acting as a medical liaison with other physicians at Client.
• Providing training regarding the medical aspects of caring for terminally ill patients to physicians, personnel, and volunteers.
• Reviewing patient’s medical eligibility for client services, in accordance with client program policies and procedures, and establishing the plan of care in conjunction with attending physician and interdisciplinary group prior to providing care including written certification of terminal illness.
• Providing written certification of the terminal illness for all subsequent benefit periods.
• Performing face-to-face encounters within thirty (30) days of the third and subsequent client benefit certification periods and attesting to the encounter. (NP may complete the encounter and report findings to client physician.)
• Consulting with attending physicians regarding pain and symptoms for management for client patients.
• Managing oversight of the patient’s medications and treatments.
• Acting as a medical resource to the client interdisciplinary group.
• Attending interdisciplinary group meetings and working in a team approach with the group.
• In conjunction with the attending physician and interdisciplinary group, reviewing and updating the plan of care every 15 days, or more frequently as needed.
• Documenting care provided in the patient’s clinical record, providing evidence of progression of the end-stage disease process.
• Acting as primary physician for patients who referring / attending physicians desire to relinquish that care and / or if the referring / attending physicians are not available for further contact.
• Maintaining current knowledge of the latest research and trends in the client care and pain / symptom management.
• Reviewing and developing protocols for treatment and proposing the most current option for interventions.
• Developing and implementing procedures and protocols regarding OSHA standards, including the handling of hazardous medications.
• Demonstrating knowledge in communications, and counseling patients and family / caregivers dealing with end-of-life issues.
• Participating in resolution of interpersonal conflict and issues of clinical and ethical concern.
• Ensuring that competent physician services are routinely available on a 24-hour basis to meet the general medical needs of the client patient to the extent the needs are not met by the attending physician.
• Assisting with evaluation of protocols and procedures with respect to quality and cost outcomes.

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