Delta Care Rx Announces New Tool To Help Hospices Comply with Upcoming Changes to Hospice Election Statement

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Care Rx, one of the nation's leading and innovative pharmacy benefit management companies exclusively serving hospice and serious illness providers, today announced the accelerated roll out of a new tool to ensure hospices can comply with upcoming changes to the Hospice Election Statement that are scheduled to go into effect October 1.

"The last thing hospices need in the middle of a pandemic is more change and new requirements, but that's what the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has scheduled when it rolls out these new mandates," said Delta Care CEO Mary Mihalyo, PharmD, BCPS. With these changes, Medicare beneficiaries will be able to request a detailed addendum to their hospice election statement that must include a written list and a rationale for every condition, item, drug or service that the hospice provider has determined to be unrelated to the beneficiary's terminal illness and related conditions.

"This change will place a premium on hospice providers effectively managing de-prescribing at time of admission, including communicating clearly and effectively with patients and their caregivers," added Wayne H. Grant, PharmD, RPh, MBA, the newly appointed National Clinical Innovation Officer for Delta Care.

CMS is mandating these changes out of a concern that hospice beneficiaries may not be fully informed at the time of admission or throughout their hospice stay of the items, services and drugs the hospice has determined to be unrelated to their terminal illness and related conditions and therefore not covered under the Medicare Hospice Benefit.

Delta Care's solution—an electronic CMS Addendum Tool (eCAT™)—will enable hospice providers to manage this change easily and effectively. Delta Care is building the tool as an optional add-on to its existing On-Demand Pharmacist Services (ODPS). Through ODPS, Delta Care pharmacists consult in real time with a hospice provider's admissions and onboarding clinicians during each hospice admission.

The Delta Care ODPS, also commonly known as Delta Care's back-pocket-pharmacist-solution, provides 24/7/365 support for clinical decision-making, cost control and quality outcomes thanks to a team of dedicated hospice pharmacists who offer immediate therapeutic consultation with every call from hospice clinicians at the patient's bedside.

In addition, Delta Care has posted a free one-hour on-line seminar on the changes to the hospice election statement and addendum, offering one no-cost continuing education credit for participants through its Delta Campus educational portal.

About Delta Care Rx

Delta Care Rx (www.deltacarerx.com) transforms and improves the hospice pharmacy sector through business transparency, innovation, extreme customer service, and the maintenance of vital community-pharmacy relationships. As a pharmacist-owned, privately held provider, Delta Care sets the industry benchmark for pharmacy benefit management, mail order pharmacy options, on-demand pharmacist services and hospice-tailored electronic prescribing. In addition, Delta Care offers electronic tools, including cutting-edge telehealth technology, to improve the quality of patient care and simplify essential workflow and ordering processes within hospice settings.

Amanda Kummins
Delta Care Rx
800.335.8219

SOURCE Delta Care Rx

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https://www.deltacarerx.com/