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2026 Schedule of Provider Education

Hospice Medication Management Toolbox: Compliance, Care, and Cost Control ... 

This education event will provide hospice organizations with a full toolbox of medication management strategies to ensure excellent patient care, regulatory and documentary compliance, and cost control. Weatherbee’s panel of experts – Carrie Cooley, Dr. Lauren Templeton, and Ellen Fulp – will discuss the regulatory requirements that govern hospice medication management, the hospice physician’s responsibilities related to prescribing, deprescribing, relatedness determinations, clinical record documentation, and risk-mitigation strategies. In addition, Weatherbee will explore best practices and cost-control strategies including partnering with local pharmacies and/or a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) and recurrent formulary assessment. Lastly, Weatherbee’s experts will share recommendations for patient-specific medication management guided by the patient/family goals of care.

• Friday, February 13, 2026

 

Hospice Physician Compliance Conference ... Initial and Intensive

These all-day events will provide the hospice physician with a comprehensive regulatory foundation of the Medicare Hospice Benefit. This foundation is essential for hospice physician leadership and engagement in hospice compliance. The April Initial course is applicable to all hospice physicians including those new to hospice or who are preparing for Initial HMDC Certification. , or seasoned physicians looking to re-engage with their organization. This course is specifically designed to catapult new hospice physicians into the complexities of hospice regulations while providing guidance on best practices to ensure compliance and payment. The September Intensive course will provide an advanced lens for seasoned hospice physicians and will start with an overview of regulations surrounding the Medicare Hospice Benefit. As leaders in the hospice and to bolster engagement in compliance and quality, this course is ideal for hospice physicians looking to re-engage with their organization and hone in on best practices that ensure quality patient care while protecting the bottom line.
Why become a certified hospice medical director?

• Friday, April 17, 2026 ... Initial

• Friday, September 11, 2026 ... Intensive

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Drafting Hospice Physician Narratives ...

This intensive course focuses on documentation strategies specifically designed for the hospice physician to address regulatory knowledge gaps surrounding technical and clinical eligibility for payment (Conditions for Coverage/Payment). Enhancement of the physician’s documentation of the written Certification/Recertification of Terminal Illness, correct use of hospice assessment tools, and creating compelling and compliant documentation to ensure payment are presented. This course has a documentation emphasis while integrating the basics of eligibility and compliance. If a hospice physician is struggling to draft strong physician narrative statements, this course is a great place to start! 

• Friday, May 15 or

• Friday, November 6, 2026

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Nurse Practitioner Documentation Clinic ...

Focusing on enhancement of the Nurse Practitioner’s clinical assessment and documentation of the Face-to-Face Encounter (F2FE), this one-day course delineates the roles of the nurse practitioner and the hospice physician. This course will include an in-depth review of disease trajectories, Local Coverage Determination (LCD) guidelines, and hospice assessment tools and how to include these elements in the F2FE documentation to assist the certifying physician in making a strong prognostication decision. This course is designed to share best practice documentation tips to ensure F2FE documentation enhances the patient’s clinical record and serves as a great tool for the recertifying physician.

• Friday, May 1 or

• Friday, October 9, 2026

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The General Inpatient (GIP) Level of Care Intensive ...

Use of the General Inpatient (GIP) Level of Care is high on CMS’ radar where hospices are evaluated on both the lack of provision or excessive provision of this higher level of care. This course will provide guidance on appropriate utilization, documentation and billing of GIP care, while also offering strategies for strengthening your hospice’s GIP practice. Hospice medical directors, hospice physicians, nurse practitioners, and hospice administration should not miss this intensive course designed to maximize hospice GIP compliance. 

• Friday, April 10, 2026

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Hospice Audit Survival Training ...

Payment-related audits from CMS contractors pose the greatest financial risk to hospice providers today. However, many hospices remain ill-equipped to properly respond to these audits (e.g., Targeted Probe and Educate (TPE), Supplemental Medical Review Contractor (SMRC), or Unified Program Integrity Contractor (UPIC) audits, etc.) and mitigate payment-related denials during the Medicare appeals process. In this course, the teams from Weatherbee Resources and the Hospice Medical Director Certification Board (HMDCB) will take a deep dive into the most prevalent audits and share a step-by-step plan to ensure a timely and comprehensive response from initial clinical record submission to the provision of expert witness testimony at the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) appeal level or beyond. This course is designed for hospice leaders, medical directors, hospice physicians, clinical managers, compliance officers, and billing personnel.  

• Friday, September 25, 2026

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Hospice Regulatory Boot Camp ...
Virtual or Live options

A three-day dive into the regulatory requirements for technical eligibility using three case studies. Topics include Medical Director Engagement, Secondary Conditions, and Related Co-morbidities; Compliant Care Plans and IDG Meetings, Hospice PEPPER, and much more! This is excellent for Hospice Medical Directors to get an immersion into the Medicare Hospice Benefit. 

• Monday-Wednesday, March 30 - April 1, 2026 - Baltimore, MD live only

• Monday-Wednesday, August 10 - 12, 2026 - virtual only

• Monday-Wednesday, December 7-9, 2026 - Las Vegas, NV live only

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