Why We Include Medicare CoPs in the NEDA Certificate of Proficiency Assessment
At this time, doulas are not included in the hospice interdisciplinary teams that deliver medical and non-medical end-of-life care and support, which is reimbursable by Medicare. Therefore, doulas are not bound by these regulations. However, NEDA includes them in this assessment to encourage doulas to learn more about the hospice system and government requirements, and to be positioned if/when hospices are able to expand professional services to include doulas in the patient care plan for pay. Outside of Medicare reimbursements, hospices that wish to incorporate doulas into their service packages for compensation may consider various financial models. Familiarity with hospice personnel, duties, philosophy, culture, and services is beneficial to doulas and the families they serve.
While the primary conditions of participation of interest to doulas are located in the Volunteer section, each statute included here has implications for those who may choose to explore opportunities with hospice in addition to their doula role. Keep in mind that Medicare-certified hospices must provide training for their volunteers, so doulas who choose to volunteer in any capacity will be asked to complete hospice in-house training, in addition to any formal doula training they may have already taken.
At the end of each section are questions that are specific to what might be of interest to doulas and that may be included on the assessment.