Position Summary
The Hospice Physician provides medical oversight and leadership for the hospice program, ensuring high-quality, patient- and family-centered care for individuals with life-limiting illnesses. This role collaborates with the interdisciplinary team (IDT) to guide care planning, certify and recertify hospice eligibility, manage complex symptoms, and support goals-of-care discussions in alignment with regulatory standards and organizational policies.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities
· Serve as medical director or attending physician for hospice patients, providing direct consultation and clinical oversight.
· Complete initial certification and timely recertifications of terminal illness; document face-to-face encounters as required.
· Lead or participate in Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) meetings; review plans of care and ensure medical appropriateness.
· Provide expert symptom management (e.g., pain, dyspnea, agitation, nausea) using evidence-based palliative approaches.
· Conduct home, facility, clinic, telehealth, or hospital visits as needed; collaborate with community attending physicians.
· Ensure accurate, timely, and compliant documentation in the electronic health record (EHR).
· Support after-hours call coverage on a rotating schedule; provide timely orders and guidance to field staff.
· Educate staff, patients, families, and community partners on hospice philosophy, prognosis communication, and safe medication use.
· Promote ethical decision-making and participate in quality improvement, utilization review, and peer review activities.
· Maintain compliance with federal, state, and payer regulations and accreditation standards (e.g., CMS Hospice CoPs).
Qualifications
Required:
· MD or DO with unrestricted medical license in [state(s)].
· Board certification in Hospice & Palliative Medicine (HPM) or eligibility with commitment to obtain within [X] months; or board certification in Internal Medicine/Family Medicine with significant hospice/palliative experience.
· Current DEA registration and prescriptive authority.
· Two (2)+ years of clinical experience caring for seriously ill adults; hospice experience preferred.
· Proficiency with EHR documentation and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Preferred:
· Board certification in HPM.
· Experience as a hospice medical director and familiarity with CMS Conditions of Participation.
· Comfort with home-based care, telehealth, and facility-based practice (SNF/ALF/LTC).
Skills & Competencies
· Compassionate communication; skilled in serious-illness conversations and shared decision-making.
· Advanced symptom management and deprescribing.
· Team leadership, coaching, and conflict resolution.
· Culturally sensitive, trauma-informed care.
· Organized, dependable, and responsive; able to manage competing priorities.
Work Conditions & Physical Requirements
· Ability to travel locally to patient homes, facilities, and partner hospitals; valid driver's license as applicable.
· Occasional evening/weekend on-call responsibilities.
· Prolonged periods of sitting/standing; ability to lift up to 25 lbs occasionally.
Compliance & Other Requirements
· Maintain current immunizations and health clearances as required.
· Adhere to HIPAA and organizational privacy and security policies.
· Complete mandatory trainings and continuing education per policy.
Job Type: Contract
Pay: From $200.00 per hour
Benefits:
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Centennial, CO 80122
