Trends in market share growth can demonstrate how well hospices were able to recover from the headwinds brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. New data from Trella Health indicate that in many cases large national organizations were able to return to pre-pandemic admission levels faster than smaller companies and nonprofits. Nationally, Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) […]
A growing number of hospices are developing medical group practices, with home health and palliative care services representing the largest gaps for hospices to fill in terms of community-based services and meeting seriously ill population needs. Out of 1,200 hospice providers nationwide, more than a quarter (26%) indicated interest in developing a medical group practice […]
Nearly 70% of 1,000 survey respondents indicated that talking about their wishes and values for end-of-life care was important to them, but only slightly more than half (56%) had actually held these conversations, according to a study by VITAS Healthcare, a subsidiary of Chemed Corp. (NYSE: CHE). These numbers were up from a previous study […]
New physician relationships are anticipated to be a major opportunity for referral partnership growth in 2021 among hospice providers. Communicating the value of hospice care to physicians will be an important key to developing and sustaining this largely untapped area of referring relationships. Demographics, evolving payment models and shifts in patient accessibility during COVID-19 are […]
Despite facing forceful pandemic-related headwinds from COVID-19, mergers and acquisitions and organic growth are fueling market share growth among the organizations listed in the LexisNexis 2020 Top Hospice Providers report. VITAS Healthcare, a subsidiary of Chemed Corp. (NYSE: CHE), led the charge as the largest hospice provider in the United States last year, with 4.42% […]
The number of Medicare Advantage health plans that are offering palliative care as a supplemental benefit more than doubled between 2020 and 2021. This represents a larger trend of plans offering an increasing number primarily health-related supplemental benefits. Analysis by the consulting firm ATI Advisory found that the number of health plans offering home-based palliative […]
Regaining regular access to hospice patients in nursing homes, assisted living or other facilities is a top concern for providers, along with ongoing staffing shortages that pre-date the pandemic, according to organization leaders who responded to Hospice News 2021 Outlook Survey. The 2021 Hospice News Outlook Survey and Report, sponsored by Homecare Homebase, is informed […]
Patients who have low levels of health literacy are more likely to seek intensive curative treatment at the end-of-life, as opposed to choosing hospice care. In addition to disparities in hospice utilization associated with race or ethnicity, a patient’s understanding of their condition and the available treatments may also be a contributing factor, according to […]
Patients who receive care in their homes at the end-of-life report higher satisfaction with the medical services provided to them than those in other settings. New data indicate that place of death may be an important quality measure for end-of-life care. Analysis of data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) for 1,500 […]
Rising utilization of hospice, psychosocial and palliative care contributes to falling suicide rates among cancer patients, a recent study has found. Between 1999 and 2018 suicide rates dropped among cancer patients even as the nation’s overall rate grew higher. Researchers aimed to identify cancer patients at the highest risk of suicide compared to the general […]
