IMPACT is a Medicare model utilized at Hospice of the Twin Cities that provides support and care coordination for terminally-ill patients who live at home, have Medicare Parts A & B eligibility, and who continue to treat their CHF, COPD, HIV or cancer diagnosis.
IMPACT patients are not yet ready for hospice and continue to get treatment for their illness. The model provides hospice-like support through telephonic case management along with social work, home health, and spiritual care services, adding to a patient’s plan of care and treatment. Oftentimes, stigma alone prevents patients from choosing hospice, and if such services are offered as patients treat their disease, their quality of life can improve significantly. Ultimately, they are likely to experience the benefits of hospice – seeing it as enhancing and not ending life – and will opt for hospice when ready. (more…)