Hospitalists More Likely than Specialists to Refer to Hospice

Hospitalized cancer patients have a greater likelihood of receiving a hospice referral from a hospitalist than other physicians, recent research has found. Hospitalist-led services (HS) referred 11.8% of patients to inpatient hospice settings between July 26, 2021 and Jan. 31, 2022, a recent study found. This was a higher rate compared to the 5.8% of […]

[UPDATED] Nearly 53% of Hospices Undergo Multiple Audits Simultaneously

In case you missed it, Hospice News has launched a new specialty publication for palliative care professionals. You can subscribe to Palliative Care News here: Subscribe today! Program integrity and an onslaught of audits are top of mind for many hospice providers in 2024. The nation’s four largest hospice industry organizations — LeadingAge, the National […]

3 Reasons Continuous Home Care Utilization is Falling

Utilization of continuous home care has dropped precipitously during the past decade, with labor pressures, regulatory scrutiny and billing challenges as contributing factors. Continuous home care (CHC) represented 0.9% of hospice care days during 2022, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). This is down from 1.8% in 2013. The widespread labor […]

Why Hospice Utilization Rates Have Fallen

National hospice utilization rates have fallen since 2020, though the total number of patients served remains consistent. About 47.3% of all Medicare decedents received one day or more of hospice care and were enrolled in hospice at the time of death during calendar year 2021, the most recent year for which data are available, according […]

Researchers Link Social Determinants to Pain Management in End-of-Life Care

Recent research shows that social determinants of health programs can help improve pain and symptom management for end-of-life patients in underserved communities. A recent study published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology found disparities in pain management among Black, Asian and Hispanic cancer patient populations, based on variation in the availability of social determinants of […]

Bereaved Families Face Serious Health, Financial Hardships

Grieving family members often suffer physical symptoms and severe financial burdens following the death of a loved one. More than 70% of respondents to a survey by the bereavement care tech platform Empathy reported at least one mental health symptom for a few weeks after the death of a loved one; 58% indicated that the […]

Palliative Telehealth Effective in Addressing Psychosocial Symptoms

Palliative telehealth is an effective tool for improving patients’ quality of life, new research has found. Phone-based telehealth led to consistent improvements in patients’ depression, anxiety and other symptoms for people with serious illness, according to a study by University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus researchers, published in JAMA. The study also found that these […]

JVs a Major Growth Engine for Hospices in 2024

Moving into 2024, more hospices see joint ventures or similar partnerships to be a major growth engine. Nearly half of 143 respondents to Hospice News’ 2024 Outlook Survey, conducted with Homecare Homebase, said that joint ventures and partnerships were the growth tactics they planned to pursue the most this year. More than 62% of the […]

Deaths at Home Rose Globally During COVID Pandemic

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic precipitated a surge of deaths in the home as opposed to a facility. Researchers examined data on the place of death among adults in 47 countries that took place between January 2012 and December 2021, according to a new study in the Lancet. The study focused on cancer and dementia patients. […]