Frequently Asked Questions
Below you will find answers to a number of general questions we receive regarding our services, staff, community and resident encounters, as well as information on our industry and specialties.
Q: Where is your service area?
A:Five Star Physicians proudly serves post-acute and long-term care communities, including Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation, Assisted Living, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities, across Maryland, Washington D.C., and Northern Virginia. Our clinicians are more than just providers—they’re members of the communities they care for, often living within the cities, towns, and counties we serve. This local presence helps us build stronger relationships with our patients, families, and community partners, allowing us to provide truly personalized and responsive care.
Q: What is the value of using Five Star Physicians versus a hospitalist?
A:Our Specialized Approach to Long-Term Care
At Five Star Physicians, we approach medicine differently from typical hospitalist groups in post-acute and long-term care. Our sole focus is on long-term care patients—this is our specialty, our commitment, and our mission every day. Unlike hospital-based practitioners, we don’t practice medicine in hospitals; instead, we partner with hospitals, sharing the common goal of maintaining and enhancing the quality of care for residents in their home environment.
Excellence Through Specialization and Partnership
Our specialized team leverages advanced metrics, technology, structured protocols, and processes for clinical decision-making, all tailored for the unique needs of long-term care. We collaborate closely with hospital teams, sharing insights to ensure continuity of care during transitions between hospital and community settings. As part of a national movement to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations, we actively participate in associations, state conferences, and community initiatives to support this agenda.
A True Partnership with Hospitals and a Commitment to Quality Care
We understand the hospitalists’ role in managing patient health and have aligned our protocols with theirs to create a seamless care experience. Our team not only shares hospitals’ high standards and goals, but we bring a deep expertise in geriatric care that few can match. Five Star Physicians is proud to provide compassionate, resident-centered care that goes beyond clinical expertise to include the personal, attentive bedside manner that truly sets us apart.
Supporting Staff with Knowledge and Mentorship
We also prioritize educating and mentoring facility staff on managing conditions like sepsis and infectious diseases, reinforcing high standards of resident care. Together with our hospital partners, we are fully dedicated to making long-term care the best it can be.
Q: What are the normal business hours in which Five Star clinicians operate?
A: Between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM on weekdays, our clinicians operate on flexible schedules tailored to meet the unique needs of the communities and patients we serve. This adaptability allows us to provide the best possible care, ensuring that each resident receives attention when they need it most. Our commitment to flexibility enables our team to respond effectively to the dynamic demands of long-term care, supporting both patients and healthcare staff with efficiency and compassion.
Five Star Physicians maintains a centralized, dedicated call center that handles calls after regular business hours and throughout weekends, providing seamless support to relieve our daytime Physicians and Nurse Practitioners. Our call center is a benchmark in the industry, ensuring continuity and quality of care that is unmatched.
Each after-hours call is carefully documented and shared with the resident’s physician during their next on-site visit, allowing for thorough follow-up with patients and community nurses. This process ensures no detail is overlooked in ongoing care. Additionally, residents and their guardians can access these records upon request, reinforcing transparency and supporting their involvement in the care process.
Q: Do your clinicians take calls after work hours and on weekends?
A: Five Star Physicians operates a dedicated, centralized call center that handles all calls after normal business hours and over the weekends. This ensures that our daytime Physicians and Nurse Practitioners can focus on their on-site responsibilities while maintaining continuous, high-quality care.
Our call center sets the standard in the industry for care continuity. Every after-hours call is meticulously documented and communicated to the physician during their next on-site visit. This allows the physician to follow up with the patient and community nurses, ensuring care is seamlessly continued. Furthermore, residents or their guardians can access these records upon request, ensuring transparency and active involvement in the care process.
Q: My community is in need of a Physician and Nurse Practitioner; can you provide both?
A: At Five Star Physicians, we offer both full-time and part-time Physician and Nurse Practitioner coverage, tailored to meet the unique needs of each community and its patients. Our partnership with the dedicated clinical care teams in these communities ensures that the care we provide is always in alignment with their specific requirements. We are fully committed to serving post-acute and long-term care communities throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
We believe the best way to form a meaningful partnership is through a direct visit between your community and Five Star Physicians. This allows us to listen, learn, and better understand your specific needs and expectations from a clinical care partner. We recognize that you, as the primary care provider, are responsible for the well-being of your residents 24/7, and that your staff has established invaluable relationships with the residents, built on trust and knowledge of their history.
We prioritize listening to you, valuing your expertise, and ensuring our clinical care approach aligns with the personalized care that your residents deserve. Our focus is on collaboration and delivering the care and support you need, respecting the bonds you’ve built with your residents.
Q: If my doctor is interested in serving patients in Long Term Care communities, will you consider hiring them?
A: We are happy to discuss employment opportunities with any clinicians that meet the high standards required of a Five Star Physician.
Q: What is Five Star’s position on palliative care?
A: At Five Star Physicians, we believe that care should never end when a patient faces an illness that cannot be cured. Our approach to palliative care is centered on providing comfort, dignity, and support to both patients and their families. We focus on helping patients understand their conditions, relieving symptoms, and avoiding unnecessary, painful, and costly treatments that offer little hope of improvement and may, in fact, make the situation worse.
Palliative care emphasizes the importance of symptom relief, regardless of the diagnosis. We do not rely on aggressive, “heroic” measures that have minimal chances of success. Instead, we focus on the patient’s quality of life, ensuring that their care is compassionate, patient-centered, and aligned with their values and wishes. By offering this holistic approach, we help patients live their remaining time with dignity, comfort, and the support of their loved ones.
Q: Will Five Star Physicians work with my regional hospitals so that they understand the great care we provide?
A: At Five Star Physicians, we take immense pride in our clinicians and the exceptional clinical care we provide. We are excited about the opportunity to foster an integrated approach to care and enhanced collaboration.
We frequently serve in this capacity, and time and again, we see how the presence of Five Star Physicians improves the relationship between long-term care communities and their local hospitals. Our partnership helps ensure seamless communication and a unified approach to patient care, which ultimately benefits residents and strengthens the overall healthcare ecosystem. When hospitals recognize that Five Star Physicians are actively involved in a community, it often leads to a more positive and productive partnership, improving care coordination and outcomes for all involved.
Q: Do you also manage in-community healthcare clinics?
A: Yes. We have the clinical and healthcare operations experience to be an excellent clinic partner. Additionally, we have the technology and systems to serve and support the physicians, nurse practitioners and medical staff that comprise your clinic.
A unique aspect of our clinic management is our shared belief in offering wellness programs to your residents. We work with our communities to develop and deliver programs such as diabetes management, nutrition, MOLST and understanding hospice and palliative care.
Q: If my mother is in your nursing home, can I (as the guardian) request a Five Star clinician?
A: Yes. Upon request from family members and responsible parties, we will happily contact the Admissions Director, Director of Nursing or Nursing Home Administrator, depending on the admission, and request a Five Star Physician on behalf of the family.
Q: If I am a family member or guardian, can I request you come to my mother’s nursing home just to see her?
A: In order to see patients in your community, Five Star Physicians must first obtain a community’s approval and have proper credentialing and permissions in place. We will be happy to contact your community directly to begin this relationship upon your request, if we are not already present in the community.
Q: What is the difference between a physician and a nurse practitioner?
A: Physicians have an advance understanding and are able to specialize in the care of specific diseases. Whereas a nurse practitioner is a registered nurse with a formal education in the caring for those who are sick, along with an advanced education and training in the diagnosis, management, and treatment of common and chronic illnesses.
Physicians and nurse practitioners tend to be similar in that they both diagnose, treat and manage acute and chronic diseases, order and interpret labs and diagnostic tests, and are able to prescribe medications.
Studies show that nurse practitioners’ care tend to be at least equivalent to physician care. Both professionals practice the healing arts but they do so from different perspectives.
Q: Are my mother’s health records safe?
A: Five Star Physicians takes HIPAA and clinical compliance very seriously. In fact, we are one of the few post-acute/long term care practices with a dedicated Compliance Officer and compliance department. Additionally, Five Star Physician’s Compliance Plan includes provisions to assure the safety of health information. Our partners in electronic health record keeping meet all Federal standards. They assure the confidentiality and integrity of all patient data. A Code of Conduct is in place for all Five Star Physicians staff, also ensuring the confidential and protective nature of your mother’s health records.
Q: Do your clinicians take calls after work hours and on weekends?
A: Five Star Physicians have a centralized call center team strictly dedicated to taking calls after normal business hours and all weekend to relieve our daytime Physicians and Nurse Practitioners. Five Star’s call center sets the bar for continuity and quality of care. This is unmatched in the industry.
Calls taken after hours are documented and delivered to the physician on their next available on site date so that they can follow up with the patient and community nurses and continue the care. A resident or guardian also has access to these records upon request.
Q: If my doctor is interested in serving patients in Long Term Care communities, will you consider hiring them?
A: We are happy to discuss employment opportunities with any clinicians that meet the high standards required of a Five Star Physician.
