Hospice QA Software: AI Chart Review on Every Visit Note

Why Hospice QA Breaks on Sampling

Hospice audits read the whole record. A reviewer asks whether the documentation supports a terminal prognosis, visit after visit, and whether each note agrees with the plan of care. One vague note in a long length of stay puts the claim at risk.

Most hospice QA teams review a sample: new admissions, new clinicians, charts near recertification. The rest go unreviewed. Sentinel reviews every submitted note with the same criteria, and feedback reaches the clinician in minutes, while the visit is still fresh.

What Hospice Compliance Asks of the Chart

Federal hospice rules set the documents an auditor looks for. Your QA rules start here:

• Certification of terminal illness. A physician narrative supporting a prognosis of six months or less, for each benefit period: two 90-day periods, then 60-day periods.
• Face-to-face encounter. Required before the third benefit period and every recertification after it, no more than 30 days before the period starts.
• Plan of care and IDG review. The interdisciplinary group reviews and updates the plan of care at least every 15 days.
• HOPE. Hospice Outcomes and Patient Evaluation replaced the Hospice Item Set on October 1, 2025, with admission, update visit, and discharge timepoints.
• Visit notes. Each note documents decline, symptoms, and care delivered, in line with the plan of care and orders.

Sentinel checks certifications, face-to-face encounters, and IDG notes, along with every visit note. Your agency's rule pack sets the exact criteria, and the pilot confirms coverage on your own charts first. For the recertification paperwork itself, see our hospice recertification checklist.

How Sentinel Reviews a Hospice Note

1. A clinician submits the visit note, exactly as they do today.
2. Sentinel picks it up automatically, working through the system access your back office already has. Support starts with HomeCare Homebase, with more EMRs onboarding.
3. Sentinel reads the full chart. The note plus the plan of care, physician orders, medication records, wound measurements, prior documentation, and subforms.
4. Findings return in about 10 minutes, in the same place QA feedback lands today.
5. Your QA team stays in charge. They supervise the system, handle exceptions, and coach clinicians on recurring issues.

More Evidence Than a Chart Audit Tool

Most chart audit tools read the finished documentation and nothing else. Sentinel reviews with more evidence:

• The full chart. Each note read together with the plan of care, orders, medications, and prior notes.
• The visit itself. When your clinicians document with Hospice Scribe, Sentinel compares the note to the recorded visit conversation. It flags details the patient or caregiver stated and the note left out, and statements in the note with no support in the visit.
• Your rules. Payer requirements, agency policy, and escalation thresholds, applied to every chart.

Every Finding Shows Its Work

Each finding includes the issue and its severity, the rule behind it, the source document or field, the exact supporting evidence from the chart, and a recommended correction. When required evidence is missing, Sentinel returns a "Cannot Evaluate" flag naming the missing source instead of guessing.

Beyond Visit Notes

• HOPE assessments. Lime reviews HOPE assessments for missing data and clinical conflicts. See OASIS and HOPE QA.
• Medical director notes. Sentinel drafts high-volume back-office documents such as medical director notes for hospice organizations.
• ADR support. Drafting for hospice ADR responses from documentation Sentinel has already reviewed.
• Coding. AI-drafted ICD-10 codes for your coders to review.

Pilots Run in Shadow Mode

You prove Sentinel on your own hospice charts before changing anything. Access is read-only. Sentinel reviews the same charts your QA team reviews, and your reviewers grade its findings against their own. You track turnaround, source coverage, precision, and reviewer time, then add note types once the numbers hold.

Priced Per Review

You pay for QA performed. Per review, not per seat, license, or module. The full product detail is on the Sentinel QA page, and the rest of Lime's hospice products are on the hospice page.