Senior living · Hospice

Hospice answering service that puts families through to your on-call nurse

A hospice answering service has one job that matters more than the rest: get a family in trouble to your on-call nurse, fast. Your AI receptionist puts symptom and death calls through at once and never assesses or advises. It answers the calls that don’t need a nurse: supplies, visits, bereavement programs and referrals.

For hospices that are HIPAA covered entities, with a BAA you accept in the portal. For an agent that hears health information, the call email only says that a call came in. The details stay in your 365vox portal, behind your sign-in.

Hear it answer — call our AI receptionist(450) 367-9990

Hospice after-hours answering service: what the 24-hour rule asks

Medicare requires hospices to make nursing services, physician services, and drugs and biologicals “routinely available on a 24-hour basis 7 days a week”.

That’s a condition of participation, in 42 CFR 418.100(c)(2). Families notice the nights. The CAHPS Hospice Survey asks whether they got the help they needed from the hospice team during evenings, weekends or holidays. Results appear on Medicare’s Care Compare (CMS).

Your on-call nurse meets that need; 365vox doesn’t. Some hospices also contract an after-hours nurse triage service. Your AI virtual receptionist answers first and puts clinical calls through to the one number you choose: your on-call nurse or your triage service. It handles the calls that don’t need a nurse, so fewer of them reach the nurse at 2 a.m.

What 365vox doesn’t replace

Your on-call nurse, your physician on call, your triage service and your visit schedule.

The agent never assesses symptoms, never gives medication instructions and never says a patient has died. It answers, puts the call through, and takes the calls that aren’t clinical.

The hospice on-call line: who reaches the nurse

Asked in order; the first yes decides how the call ends. These are examples. Your medical director and clinical manager write the real rules.

A call comes in. The greeting says it’s an AI and that the call is recorded.

1Is there a fire, a crime or someone hurt who isn’t your patient, or does the caller ask for an ambulance?

YesCall 911 Set up to tell the caller right away to hang up and call 911. The agent can’t call 911 or send help itself.
2Is the call about a patient in your care who has died, or may have died?

YesDeath call The built-in safety rule may first mention 911, because the caller may describe someone not breathing. Then the call is flagged urgent and put through to the on-call nurse at once. If the nurse doesn’t answer within 20 seconds, the agent takes a message.
3Is a patient worse: pain, breathing, restlessness, a fall, anything clinical?

YesNurse now Puts the call through to the on-call nurse. It asks nothing about symptoms beyond your rules and never suggests a medication.
4Is a family out of a medication or a supply the patient needs tonight?

YesNurse or message Puts the call through to the on-call nurse. Supply orders that can wait become a message for the morning.
5Is a hospital, physician or family calling about a new referral?

YesReferral Takes your referral questions, then puts the call through or takes a message for intake, by your rules. Hospital referral intake
6Is the caller asking about visits, deliveries or the bereavement program?

YesAgent answers Answers from your rules. A visit change your rules allow is booked in your connected calendar and read back; anything else is a message for the right team.

Everything elseEverything else: answered from your rules, or a message with who called and why.

The built-in safety rule tells any caller who describes a life-threatening emergency, such as someone not breathing, to hang up and call 911. It can’t be turned off, and your rules can’t override it, so a family may hear it on a death call. Your rules add the context of a hospice patient’s death and put the call through. General information, not legal or clinical advice. Rules differ by state and province and change over time, so check yours.

A hospice death call at 3 a.m.

A daughter says her mother, a hospice patient at home, has stopped breathing. The agent is brief and calm. Its built-in safety rule mentions 911 once; then it asks one question and puts the call through to the on-call nurse. It doesn’t say the patient has died, and it doesn’t ask what happened.

Sample call · Cedar Hills Hospice (example hospice). Example call with made-up names. The recording, transcript and summary are in your 365vox portal for the days you choose.

AI receptionistThanks for calling Cedar Hills Hospice. I’m an AI assistant. This call is recorded and transcribed so we can handle your request. How can I help you today?
CallerHi. My mom is on hospice with you. I think she’s stopped breathing.
AI receptionistI’m so sorry. If she needs emergency help, hang up and call 911. Otherwise I’ll put you through to our on-call nurse now. What is your mother’s name?
CallerRuth Adler.
AI receptionistThank you. I’m connecting you to the on-call nurse now. If the nurse doesn’t answer, I’ll come back on the line and take a message.
CallerOK. Please hurry.
AI receptionistConnecting you now. I’m so sorry you’re going through this.

Why the agent still mentions 911

The Hospice Foundation of America tells families that when a hospice patient dies at home, they should not call 911, but the hospice’s 24-hour number. The hospice nurse confirms the death and completes the paperwork (HFA). So this hospice’s rules say a patient in its care who may have died is a call for the on-call nurse, at once.

Every 365vox agent also has a safety rule that applies whatever your rules say: a caller describing someone not breathing is told to hang up and call 911. Your rules can’t switch it off, so families may hear it on a death call before they’re put through. Call your agent with this exact situation before you activate it, and read the transcript.

If the nurse doesn’t answer within 20 seconds, the agent comes back on the line and takes a message. Your rules mark death calls urgent, so the call gets its own email. For a health agent that email only says an urgent call came in; what the family said is in your portal. So the on-call phone should get the call emails too.

Hospice calls: what goes to the nurse, and what the agent handles

Sort your calls before you write your rules. This is one example of the split; your clinical leaders decide yours.

Hospice calls by type, an example of each, and how the AI receptionist ends the call
Call	Example	How it ends
A death at home	“I think Mom has stopped breathing.”	Put through to the on-call nurse at once. The nurse confirms the death and completes the paperwork (HFA).
A symptom or a change	Pain, breathing, restlessness, a fall	Put through to the on-call nurse. No questions about symptoms beyond your rules.
Medications	“We’re out of the comfort kit medicine.” “How much should I give?”	Put through to the on-call nurse. The agent never gives medication instructions.
Equipment and supplies	A hospital bed that won’t lower, a supply order	Your rules decide: the equipment company’s 24-hour number, the nurse, or a message for the morning.
Visits	“Can the aide come Thursday instead of Wednesday?”	Booked in your connected calendar, within the times your rules allow, and read back to the family. Anything else about visits: a message for your scheduler.
Bereavement program	“My husband died in March. Is the support group still meeting?”	Answered from your rules: groups, times, who to contact. Hospices make bereavement services available for up to a year after a death (42 CFR 418.64(d)).
Respite and levels of care	“Can Dad go somewhere for a few days so I can rest?”	What your rules say about respite. Medicare names four levels of hospice care, including inpatient respite (42 CFR 418.302). Who qualifies is your team’s decision.
Referrals and admissions	A physician’s office, a hospital, a family asking about hospice	Your referral questions, then put through or a message for intake.

General information, not legal or clinical advice. Rules differ by state and province and change over time, so check yours.

Starter rules for a hospice line

Paste these into step 9 and fill in the brackets. Your medical director and clinical manager should write the final version: these are routing rules, not clinical guidance.

Keep the clinical list broad. When a call might be clinical, the rule puts it through to the nurse.

Business rules · hospice line (starting point)

Starting point only: review with your clinicians and your privacy officer before you use it.

Who we are: [Hospice name] provides hospice care in [service area]. Our on-call nurse is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Death of a patient: A caller may say a patient in our care has died or may have died. Say you are sorry and ask only for the patient’s name. Treat the call as urgent and put it through to the on-call nurse at once. Don’t ask what happened. Never say that the patient has died.

Context: Families of our patients are told to call us when a patient dies at home. If the caller says the patient is in our hospice care, put the call through to the nurse right after any safety message. If the caller asks for an ambulance, or describes a fire, a crime or someone else hurt, tell them to hang up and call 911.

Clinical calls: Any call about pain, breathing, restlessness, a fall, a change in condition or a medication is urgent and goes to the on-call nurse. Never ask about symptoms, never give medication instructions, never say whether something is normal.

Equipment: [Equipment company] has its own 24-hour line: [number]. Supply orders that can wait: take a message for the morning.

Visits: Families may move [aide and volunteer] visits. Offer the open times in the calendar, book the one that suits them and read it back. If the call is really about a symptom, put it through to the nurse. Any other visit question: take a message for the scheduler with the patient’s name.

Bereavement: [Our bereavement program: groups, times, how long support lasts, who to contact.] Speak gently and briefly. If the caller wants a counselor, take a message for [bereavement coordinator].

Referrals: Take the caller’s name, organization, number, the patient’s name as given, and the reason. Put the call through during [hours]; otherwise take a message for [intake].

Anything else: If the answer isn’t here or on our website, say so and take a message.

A starting point, not clinical or legal advice. Test the death call and a symptom call before you activate.

What it never does on a hospice line

Some are built in, like never giving medical advice. Add the rest in step 10.

Never assesses symptoms, or says whether something is normal at the end of life.
Never gives medication instructions, including for a comfort kit.
Never says that a patient has died, or pronounces anything.
Never asks a grieving caller for more than the few details your rules need.
Never replaces your on-call nurse, your physician on call or your triage service.
Never moves a visit when the call is really about a symptom: that call goes to the nurse.
Never calls families back. It sends no text messages and makes no outgoing calls: it answers the calls that come in.

If the nurse doesn’t answer

If the nurse doesn’t answer within 20 seconds, the agent takes a message: the patient’s name and the caller’s number. Your rules mark death and symptom calls urgent, so the message is flagged urgent in the portal and gets its own email.

For a health agent, that email only says an urgent call came in; the details stay in the portal, behind your sign-in. So the on-call nurse should get the call emails on the on-call phone and open each urgent one at night.

Build it yourself

Build your hospice line yourself

Answer Yes to the health question when you create the agent, and accept the health-information agreement before it handles health information. Then set these on the Customize screen.

Build yours free for 7 days

You set all of this yourself in the 365vox portal, on the Customize screen. Everything saves as you type; then you submit, test the agent with a real call and activate it.

Customize · your agent

Step 1, IndustryOther. Your business rules describe your hospice and your service area.
Step 2, GreetingShort and calm. It must say it’s an AI and that the call is recorded; the portal won’t accept a greeting without both.
Step 3, Questions to askName, phone and email are there. Add only What is the patient’s name? Your rules put death and symptom calls through before anything else is asked.
Step 4, Forward to a personYour on-call nurse’s number, or your after-hours triage service’s line. One number per agent; a separate intake line is a second agent. If nobody answers within 20 seconds, the agent takes a message.
Step 5, IntegrationsConnect the calendar your scheduler uses, so families can move visits during the call, within your rules. If your hospice EHR has an open API, connect it too: callers’ details, call notes and messages go straight into it.
Step 7, When your agent answers24/7, or after hours and weekends if your office answers by day.
Step 8, Call notificationsThe on-call phone’s email, the clinical manager and intake. Each email only says a call came in; the details are in the portal. Calls your rules mark urgent, like death and symptom calls, get their own email.
Step 9, Business rulesThe starter rules above, your website and up to 3 documents, such as your bereavement program and your equipment company’s numbers.
Step 10, Things your agent will never doThe five built-in rules stay on. Add Never say that a patient has died and Never say whether a symptom is normal.
Step 13, Test your agentCall it as a family at 3 a.m. Say the patient is on hospice and has stopped breathing. Read the transcript before you activate.

Hospice answering service cost for a 60-patient census

$0.75 a conversation minute, billed by the second. No monthly plan, no setup fee and no long-term contract. Taxes where applicable. The example assumes calls put through to the nurse are short on the agent’s side: one question, then the transfer.

See AI receptionist pricing Estimate your cost

Example: a hospice with a 60-patient census

24/7, with the office answering by day.

Symptom and death calls put through: 70 calls × 1.5 min
Medication and supply calls: 35 calls × 2.5 min
Visit and scheduling calls: 40 calls × 2 min
Bereavement program questions: 12 calls × 3 min
Referrals: 15 calls × 3 min
Vendors and everyone else: 20 calls × 1.5 min
Total: 192 calls · 384 min

Monthly cost$288

384 minutes × $0.75 = $288 a month. Illustrative assumptions chosen by 365vox, not a customer result. Your own calls decide your cost. Taxes where applicable.

Comparing virtual receptionist services?

Live answering services usually sell monthly plans of minutes or calls. 365vox is an AI virtual receptionist that answers forwarded calls on the first ring, day and night, follows your approved answers and costs $0.75 a minute, billed by the second, with no plan.

The virtual receptionist, minus the call center

Hospice answering service FAQs

What should a hospice answering service do with a death call?

Put it through to your on-call nurse at once. The agent says it’s sorry, asks only for the patient’s name and connects the call. It never says the patient has died; your nurse confirms the death and completes the paperwork (HFA). If the nurse doesn’t answer within 20 seconds, the agent takes a message. Your rules mark death calls urgent, so the call gets its own email, with no health details in it.

Will the AI tell a hospice family to call 911?

Yes, when the caller’s words call for it. Every agent has a built-in rule to tell callers describing a life-threatening emergency, such as someone not breathing, to hang up and call 911, and your rules can’t switch it off. So on a death call it may mention 911 before it puts the call through to your nurse. Your rules add the rest: a fire, a crime, someone else hurt, or a caller asking for an ambulance.

Does an AI answering service meet the hospice 24-hour availability rule?

Not on its own. Under 418.100(c)(2), nursing, physician services, and drugs and biologicals must be “routinely available on a 24-hour basis 7 days a week” (eCFR). That’s your on-call nurse and physician. The agent answers the phone and puts clinical calls through to them. Whether your arrangements meet the rule is for your leadership and compliance team.

Can our after-hours nurse triage service be the transfer number?

Yes. Step 4 takes one name and one number: your own on-call nurse, or the line of an after-hours triage service you contract with. The agent answers first, handles the calls that aren’t clinical and puts clinical ones through to that number. A hospice that wants intake calls to reach a different person builds a second agent with its own phone number.

What can a hospice on-call line answer without the nurse?

Whatever you’ve written in your rules: how to reach the equipment company, office hours, how to request supplies, bereavement groups and how referrals work. With your calendar connected in step 5, families can move a visit on the call, within your rules; other visit questions become messages. Anything about a symptom, a medication or a change in the patient goes to the nurse, even if it sounds minor.

How does the agent handle calls about the bereavement program?

From your rules: groups, times, places and who to contact. Hospices make bereavement services available to the family for up to a year after a patient’s death (42 CFR 418.64(d)). Your rules can ask for short, gentle sentences. If the caller wants a counselor, the agent takes a message for your bereavement coordinator, or puts the call through, by your rules.

How are hospices judged on calls at night and on weekends?

Through families. The CAHPS Hospice Survey asks family caregivers whether they got the help they needed during evenings, weekends or holidays. Results are reported publicly on Care Compare (CMS). The agent answers and puts clinical calls through to your nurse. The help itself comes from your team.

What does a hospice answering service cost for a 60-patient census?

In the worked example above, 192 calls a month add up to 384 minutes. At $0.75 a minute, billed by the second, that’s $288 a month. There’s no monthly plan, no setup fee and no long-term contract. Taxes where applicable. Your own calls decide your cost. See pricing.

At 3 a.m., the family needs your nurse. Get the call there.

No credit card required. Cancel anytime.Just forward your phone line — we'll handle the rest.

Or hear it first — call our AI receptionist(450) 367-9990

Not ready to start your free trial? Book a no-obligation discovery call.