Hospice requires only a prognosis of six months or less to live. Let’s take the atypical case of a family member believing their loved one who never went to a doctor for the past several decades is terminal. They call a hospice provider who then sends out a registered nurse to evaluate the loved one in question. I’ve done this over the years.

If the person is terminal with a prognosis of six months or less to live, I would then either call the loved one’s attending physician (this is the best case) or one of the hospice medical directors to discuss my findings. The doctor will then determine the primary terminal diagnosis based on my assessment findings, and then we proceed with permission/consent from the patient (if they are able) or the family/power of attorney.