Overview
The continuum of care concept has become more important than ever before. Health care providers commonly work to move patients along the continuum, often facing the challenges of market-driven reform, managed care and case management issues.
How does your hospital currently establish probate conservatorship for patients needing representation? What challenges do you face when discharging patients who need protection from undue influences or abuse?
When discharged patients cannot care for themselves and need help managing their finances or other personal needs, the Conservatorship Access Network (CAN) provides assistance. A partnership with the LA County Office of the Public Guardian, CAN offers patients complete probate conservatorship evaluation at your facility.
Program Benefits
- Expedited scheduling for probate conservatorship evaluations and appointments.
- Conservators for capitated patients who need assistance with medical consent, estate safeguarding or personal decisions.
- Expedited service, protection and overall comprehensive, ongoing and caring support.
- Reduces evaluation processing time by 70 percent.
- Lowers potential revenue losses for facilities experiencing delays in probate conservatorship evaluations and appointments.
- Reduces administrative days, nursing hours and case management / social work time.
- Facilitates patient transfers.
How It Works
- A facility or group contracts with HASC for the investigative services of a Los Angeles County Deputy Public Conservator (DPC) dedicated to CAN participants.
- Using the assessment and referral guidelines stipulated in the contract, the facility identifies potential CAN eligibles and refers them to the DPC.
- The DPC responds to the referral within three working days and determines if a conservator is needed by the eighth day. Within 11 working days, the DPC recommends the patients for permanent or temporary conservatorship, as needed. (If the latter, the court mandates five additional calendar days for notifying the patient’s family.)
CAN participants who are granted temporary conservatorship can be safeguarded in an average of 25 working days. A non-CAN participant without family or friends will wait more than 65 days for conservatorship evaluation.
Program Costs
- $997 per patient referral to the Office of the Public Guardian
- $379 quarterly management fee to HASC (discount of 25 percent or more available for multiple facilities or groups in a system), invoiced in advance and due within 30 days