Draft Recertification Narratives with ChatGPT

Go to {{tool:ChatGPT.url}} and click Sign up. Use your work or personal email and complete verification. You'll arrive at the main chat interface.

What you should see: A centered text box with "Message ChatGPT" as the placeholder text, and a left sidebar showing your chat history.

Each new chat session, paste a context-setting message first. This tells ChatGPT what you need without re-explaining every time. Use this starter (save it in your notes for easy copy-paste):

You are a hospice clinical documentation assistant. I will give you clinical bullet points about a patient and you will draft a CMS-compliant hospice recertification narrative. The narrative must:
- Use Medicare hospice eligibility language ("terminal prognosis of 6 months or less if the disease runs its normal course")
- Reference specific clinical indicators relevant to the patient's diagnosis
- Include functional decline markers (PPS scale if known, ADL dependence, mobility)
- Mention symptom burden and management
- Be 150-250 words
- NOT include patient names, dates of birth, or any PHI

After the context message, list the patient's de-identified clinical indicators as bullets. Include:

• Primary diagnosis and stage/severity
• Functional status (can they walk? Feed themselves? Are they bedbound?)
• Recent weight changes
• Symptom burden (pain level, dyspnea, wound status, appetite)
• Recent hospitalizations or ER visits
• Response to treatment (or decline despite optimal management)
• Any specific LCD criteria relevant to the diagnosis

ChatGPT will generate the narrative. Read it carefully and verify:

• Are all clinical facts accurate?
• Is the eligibility language present ("6 months or less if the disease runs its normal course")?
• Are there any invented clinical details that weren't in your bullet list?
• Does it use the correct diagnosis terminology?

Edit the output for any errors, then paste into your EHR narrative field.

Copy your context-setting message (Step 2) and save it in a Word document or Notes app labeled "ChatGPT Recertification Setup." You'll paste this at the start of each new ChatGPT session.