Completing Initial Physician Orders in HospiceWorks

This guide provides a structured walkthrough for completing the Initial Physician Order for newly admitted patients. This process ensures all medical authorizations, safety protocols, and disciplinary assignments are established at the start of care.


Overview

The Initial Physician Order is an automated task triggered upon patient admission. It functions as a central hub for documenting admitting orders, medications, discipline assignments, treatments, Durable Medical Equipment (DME), and clinical supplies.


Pro Tip: If you are navigating this interface for the first time, look for the red highlights. These indicate required fields that must be populated before the system allows you to finalize the order.


Getting Started

  1. Access the Patient Dashboard.
  2. Review the Tasks to complete column on the left.
  3. Select the hyperlink titled Initial Physician Order (Add Admitting Orders, Medications, Assignments, Treatments, DME, Supplies).


Administrative Setup

Before entering clinical data, you must establish the order's context:

  • Effective Date: Input the date the order takes effect (usually the date of admission).
  • Physician: Choose the authorizing physician from the dropdown menu.
  • Read back Nurse: Select the staff member who verified the order details with the physician.

Patient Safety and Admission Orders

Patient Safety Information

Data in this section often carries over from the Initial Nursing Assessment.

  • Allergies: Verify existing data or add new allergies. If none exist, the field can remain empty.
  • Code Status: Select the patient’s status (e.g., DNR or AND-Allow Natural Death) from the provided list.


Admission Orders

This tab is time-sensitive and serves to streamline the initial care plan.

  • Time Constraint: This section is only available during the first 5 days following admission.
  • General Authorizations: Use the "Select All" feature or manually check boxes for symptom management and safety protocols.
  • Hospice Services: Check the services being initiated (e.g., Skilled Nursing, Spiritual Care).
  • Custom Orders: Click Add Custom Order if you need to document specific instructions not covered by the standard templates.


Medications and Assignments

Adding Medications

  1. Toggle the Medications section to On.
  2. Click Add Medication.
  3. Search: Begin typing the name (at least three letters) to trigger the auto-suggest list.
  4. Clinical Particulars: The system will auto-fill the strength and route. You must manually enter the Frequency and Dosage Range.
  5. Hospice Coverage: Indicate if the medication is "Hospice Covered" and confirm its relationship to the terminal diagnosis.
  6. Save: Always click Save Medication to commit the entry to the order.


Core Discipline Assignments

To satisfy hospice regulations, HospiceWorks requires four core disciplines to be included in the initial order. Failure to include these will prevent the order from being signed.

Discipline

Requirements

Physician

Assignment required; no specific frequency needed.

Skilled Nurse

Must include visit frequency (e.g., 1/weekly) and visit type.

Social Worker

Must include visit frequency and visit type.

Chaplain

Must include visit frequency and visit type.

DME, Supplies, and Treatments

  • Diagnoses: Displays the terminal diagnosis and related comorbidities for final review.
  • Treatments: Allows you to link specific nursing interventions to the care plan.
  • DME: Add equipment like oxygen tanks or hospital beds. You must specify the provider, quantity, and equipment type.
  • Supplies: Document clinical supplies (e.g., dressings, tape) and ensure they are marked for hospice coverage.

Final Review and Signature

The Preview Phase

Click Preview at the bottom of the screen to see a consolidated view of the order. This is your chance to catch errors in visit frequencies or medication dosages before they are locked.

Important: The Notes Field

The Additional Order Notes box is for descriptive text and comments only.

Warning: Do not enter actual clinical orders in this box. Information typed here does not automate any system actions and will not be processed as a formal order.

The Signing Process

  1. Review any Care Plan warnings (the system will remind you if a medication lacks a corresponding care plan).
  2. Click Ready to Sign.
  3. Select Submit to move the order into the signature queue.
  4. Click the final Sign button to apply your electronic signature and finalize the document.


Support

For technical assistance or workflow questions:

Email: support@hospiceworks.com