Hospice at the Crossroads: The physician director

The Medicare regulations for hospice haveallowedthe development of two types of programs. The physician-supervised model, in which the hospice provides a physician to oversee a general program with no requirement of his direct involvement with patient care. The second model is physician-directed, where the care of the patient is assumed by the hospice physician. This report reviews the implications of each model with an examination of their benefits and disadvantages. It is our feeling that the physiciandirected modelof hospice care has so many advantagesto this movement that it should be favored.