Document, document, document!  Documentation is vital to how hospice works, but how can we keep it from disrupting patient care?  Even though it seems to be a nuisance and takes a lot of time, it’s crucial to the care of seriously ill patients to document everything we do for our patients.  Medical records are created from our documentation.  It’s how we get paid, how we stay compliant with regulations.  One of the most important aspects of documentation of the care of hospice patients is how it keeps everyone on the interdisciplinary team informed about the patient and caregiving system.  Keeping a current record of a patient’s care is the responsibility of every single discipline on the hospice team.  The documentation is never more important than the patient’s care, but it’s still important.  It’s also smart to do the documentation at the point of care, which means to record everything at the visit, or immediately afterwards.  If you’re a patient or family caregiver for a hospice patient, please answer questions fully and honestly.  It will help your team to provide better care.  Don’t forget to provide your team with important documents like DNRs, living wills, guardianship documents, and other advance directives.  If you need more information about how hospice teams work, check out theheartofhospice.com.  On The Heart of Hospice podcast page, you’ll find podcasts you can listen to any time that works for you, on every topic related to end of life and hospice care.  Looking for a speaker for your hospice conference or agency event?  Email us at host@theheartofhospice.com to discuss featuring one of the hosts of The Heart of Hospice podcast at your next meeting.  You are The Heart of Hospice!