My brother, an m.d. and the DPOA of my mother's healthcare, recently pushed to enroll my mother in hospice. There is no known terminal diagnosis and when I ask my brother what the diagnosis is he remains silent. My mother has periods of lucidity as well as confusion since she had a laminectomy under general anesthesia. How can I find out what the specific diagnosis is that qualifies my mother for hospice?
I hope that knowing the hospice placement was appropriate will be of some comfort to you. I also hope that in the coming year you can reestablish some meaningful relationships with your brothers. This has been a sad ordeal for all of you.
It is the hospice doctor who determines the eligibility for hospice, often with consulting the primary care doctor.
I thought relatives, (that are doctors), can not treat family members?
What happened to the doctor that has been treating her, in the past?
I don't know if there's any legal standing, regarding this .... Something you might want to look into.
What she has to do is, get records from her mother's doctor that states, the earliest dates of her diagnosis as to when the change in her mental health started. Also, get some follow-up records, showing it's progression. Compare these dates, to when she signed the POA.
DON'T go directly to the lawyer ... Of course he's not going to jeopardize his reputation. Adult Protective Services (APS) may be able to help you with this.
I don't know what your brother is up to, but there's obviously a reason, he's being so secretive. I also don't know what state "manis1954" is from, but I've been through this with two families I cared for, in both NY and FL. It split the family in half ... The POA in both instances was up to no good. The one POA, (in FL) wasn't even related to the person, and does this as a career.
Good Luck and God Bless.
Good luck!
manis1954, from your other posts, it looks like your relationship with your brothers is dysfunctional. I am so sorry. In previous posts you were given a lot of advice about pursuing a change in POA and/or consulting a lawyer, to bring you mother to live closer to you. Did you follow up on any of that advice? What was the outcome?
In any case, my previous answer on this thread stands. I do feel sympathetic to your situation. Talk to hospice personnel. Continue with a loving relationship with Mom.
Please note that in order to go into Hospice your Mom had to be referred by a doctor [maybe your brother] but there is also a Hospice physician assigned to the Hospice group, and he/she also makes the call if someone is ready for Hospice.
Surgery is very difficult for an elder, it can send them into delirium and/or worsen dementia. Yes, there will be time when the elder sounds clear and alert, but that comes and goes.
Manis, are you a son or daughter? There are times when a woman your Mom's age doesn't want a son to know her medical condition if the condition is female in nature.