Journal article
Hospice eligibility in patients who died in a tertiary care center
Journal of hospital medicine, Vol.7(3), pp.218-223
03/2012
DOI: 10.1002/jhm.975
PMCID: PMC4809368
PMID: 22086609
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Hospice is a service that patients, families, and physicians find beneficial, yet a majority of patients die without receiving hospice care. Little is known about how many hospitalized patients are hospice eligible at the time of hospitalization.
METHODS:
Retrospective chart review was used to examine all adult deaths (n = 688) at a tertiary care center during 2009. Charts were selected for full review if the death was nontraumatic and the patient had a hospital admission within 12 months of the terminal admission. The charts were examined for hospice eligibility based on medical criteria, evidence of a hospice discussion, and hospice enrollment.
RESULTS:
Two hundred nine patients had an admission in the year preceding the terminal admission and a nontraumatic death. Sixty percent were hospice eligible during the penultimate admission. Hospice discussions were documented in 14% of the hospice‐eligible patients. Patients who were hospice eligible had more subspecialty consults on the penultimate admission compared to those not hospice eligible (P = 0.016), as well as more overall hospitalizations in the 12 months preceding their terminal admission (P = 0.0003), and fewer days between their penultimate admission and death (P = 0.001).
CONCLUSION:
The majority of terminally ill inpatients did not have a documented discussion of hospice with their care provider. Educating physicians to recognize the stepwise decline of most illnesses and hospice admission criteria will facilitate a more informed decision‐making process for patients and their families. A consistent commitment to offer hospice earlier than the terminal admission would increase access to community or home‐based care, potentially increasing quality of life. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2011;. © 2011 Society of Hospital Medicine.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Hospice eligibility in patients who died in a tertiary care center
- Creators
- Katherine Freund - University of Iowa, Roy and Lucille Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, USAMichelle T Weckmann - Department of Family Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, USADavid J Casarett - Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USAKristi Swanson - Department of Family Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, USAMary Kay Brooks - Office of Clinical Quality, Safety, and Performance Improvement, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USAAnn Broderick - Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of hospital medicine, Vol.7(3), pp.218-223
- DOI
- 10.1002/jhm.975
- PMID
- 22086609
- PMCID
- PMC4809368
- NLM abbreviation
- J Hosp Med
- ISSN
- 1553-5592
- eISSN
- 1553-5606
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 03/2012
- Academic Unit
- Psychiatry; Family and Community Medicine; General Internal Medicine; Internal Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984024517802771
Metrics
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