Also Known As:
F2F visit, hospice recertification visit, in-person eligibility check, hospice physician visit
Type:
Required medical assessment
Primary Purpose:
To physically confirm, through an in-person clinical exam, that the patient continues to meet hospice eligibility criteria.
When It Applies:
Required before the start of the third benefit period (after 180 days in hospice) and before each recertification period thereafter.
Who Is Involved:
A hospice physician or hospice-employed nurse practitioner, the patient, and any family member who wishes to attend.
Where It Occurs:
At the patient’s primary residence, home, assisted-living, memory-care, or skilled nursing facility.
Duration:
30–60 minutes.
Coverage:
Covered under the Medicare Hospice Benefit.
Key Focus:
Clinical examination, confirmation of continued decline, and updated documentation that supports recertification for another 60 days.
Common Misunderstanding:
The face-to-face visit is a regulatory requirement, not a sign the patient is being discharged. Most patients are recertified after each face-to-face.
Why Medicare Requires Face-to-Face Visits
The Medicare Hospice Benefit has built-in checkpoints to protect patients and ensure hospice care is being given to people who continue to meet eligibility criteria. The face-to-face visit is the most important of those checkpoints.
Patients elect hospice in 90-day, then 90-day periods, and then 60-day periods after that. Before the third 60-day period begins (around day 180), a hospice physician or nurse practitioner must visit the patient in person and document that the clinical picture still supports a six-month prognosis.
What the Visit Looks Like
A Lifted physician or nurse practitioner comes to the patient’s home (or facility) for the visit. They examine the patient, talk with the family, and review:
- Current symptoms and how they have changed since admission
- Weight and any unintentional weight loss
- Functional status, how much help is needed with ADLs
- Cognition, alertness, and orientation
- Skin integrity, pressure areas
- Recent infections, hospitalizations, or symptom crises
Families are welcome to attend and to ask questions. The visit is not a test, it’s a conversation that also happens to satisfy a federal requirement.
What Happens After the Visit
In most cases, the physician confirms continued eligibility and the patient is recertified for the next 60-day period without interruption. If the clinical picture has changed dramatically, sometimes for the better, the team will have an honest conversation with the family about next steps.
If a patient improves enough to no longer meet hospice criteria, they can be discharged from hospice and re-enrolled later if their condition declines again. Contact our team with questions about your loved one’s next recertification.