I started looking for placement for my mother in hospice, at her request. A doctor was not involved. It all depends on why one is going to hospice, I guess. She had a high level of dementia but was lucid enough at times to let me know she wanted no more care for her. I called up a hospice, they came and evaluated her, and decided she was a candidate for hospice and palliative care since she was in a steady declining mode, and her condition had only one outcome. It’s been a couple of years now. Twice I was notified she was being considered to be removed from hospice. They thought she was holding steady and was no longer in immediate need of hospice. Both times, she was kept in hospice. Once because they realized she had been drastically losing weight for no reason, and the other time she got Covid. She has now been in steady decline for awhile; a few times we have even thought she was in transition.
So, do what you feel is most comfortable for you. You can talk it over with your doctor. Or interview several hospices first and get evaluated by one of them. They are all different, they offer different services, and have different focuses. I am sorry you are going through this. I wish you the best.
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