Become a Certified Hospice Physician
Demonstrate your competence and dedication to patient care with the only professional certification and exam for hospice physicians
Hospice is a highly specialized area of practice, requiring clinical skills, deep knowledge of regulatory and legal standards, and excellent communication abilities around difficult conversations with an incredibly vulnerable patient population. Demonstrate for patients and employers your mastery of these areas and remain up to date on all you need to provide the best possible patient care by pursuing your Hospice Medical Director Certification (HMDC) credential.
The next certification cycle opens soon.Sign up for our mailing list to learn more about HMDCB.
All hospice physicians should be HMDCB certified
Earning the HMDC credential demonstrates to patients and families, employers, and colleagues the dedication and specialized knowledge you have in caring for patients at the end of their lives while helping you remain up-to-date on new regulatory changes and clinical standards. HMDCB’s certification program assesses your competence in all aspects of hospice, including
- patient and family care, education, and advocacy
- medical knowledge, such as pain assessment and treatment, interventional symptom management, drug abuse, and all aspects and settings of hospice and palliative care
- leadership and communication skills
- knowledge of ethics and law related to informed consent, decision-making capacity, and many others
- regulatory expertise including comprehensive knowledge of hospice regulation and reimbursement and Medicare hospice benefit compliance
- systems-based practice ensuring high-quality patient care including access allied health professionals, quality-of-care measures, patient safety standards, and medication management
- and much more.
Read the Content Blueprint or prepare for the Exam
A certification program for both experienced and fellowship-trained hospice physicians
The hospice medical director certification (HMDC) program is flexible in that you can be eligible in several ways:
- as an experienced hospice physician or hospice medical director through your practice hours
- by completing a 12-month fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine
- by being already certified in hospice and palliative medicine by one of 10 ABMS primary boards.
You can choose the pathway that works best for you.
"Taking the HMDCB exam is an extremely useful tool for assessing your HMD skill set and knowledge, which can help frame professional development. Being certified is desirable, when you consider the competitive environment within which many of us practice.”
Robert Friedman, MD FAAFP FAAHPM HMDC
Chief Medical Officer at Hospice Austin, Austin, TX
Learn more about HMDCB.
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