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New study shows palliative care programs surging trend in US hospitals
December 12, 2005Academic medical centers and not-for-profit hospitals take the lead for-profit hospitals lag behind
A study released today in the Journal of Palliative Medicine confirmed that palliative care programs continue to be a rapidly growing trend in U.S. hospitals - a trend widely regarded to be an improvement in the quality of care of advanced, chronic illness. Researchers at the Mount Sinai Medical Center and the American Hospital Association (AHA) report that the number of palliative care programs increased from 632 (15% of hospitals) in 2000 to 1,027 (25% of hospitals) in 2003-a 63% increase in only three years.
"This is a win-win for both patients and hospitals. Palliative care programs provide quality, efficient and cost-effective care focused directly on our sickest and most complex patients. Hospitals recognize that the cost of not providing this type of care is just too high," said Dr. Sean Morrison, one of the study's authors and Vice-Chair of Research, Department of Geriatrics at the Mount Sinai Medical Center.
Although growth occurred nationwide, larger hospitals, not-for-profit hospitals, academic medical centers and VA hospitals were more likely to have a program compared to other hospitals. The New England, Pacific, and Mountain regions of the country were also much more likely to have programs.
The goal of palliative care is to relieve suffering and ensure the best possible quality of life for people facing advanced chronic and life-threatening illness. It is provided alongside all other appropriate curative treatment. Hospital palliative care programs have been associated with improvements in both healthcare quality and healthcare costs.
By 2030, 20% of the U.S. population will be over 65 and most will eventually have one or more chronic illnesses. "Patient demands are changing. People want quality of life and relief from suffering. Usually palliative care programs are flooded with referrals once word gets out that a program has been started," commented Dr. Diane Meier, Director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care and one of the study's authors.
The study was compiled using the most recent data (2003) from the AHA Annual Survey of Hospitals 2005. It represents an update of an earlier report published in 2001 and provides the first follow-up to Means to a Better End: A Report on Dying in America Today (November 2002). Key findings included:
- Palliative care programs are more readily available to people in hospitals in the Northeast, Pacific, and Mountain regions than in other regions of the country.
- Larger hospitals, academic medical centers, not-for-profit hospitals (including those affiliated with the Catholic Church) and VA hospitals are significantly more likely to develop palliative care programs as compared to city, county and state and for-profit hospitals.
- Hospitals are more likely to have a palliative care program if they own their own hospice.
- Hospitals are more likely to have a palliative care program if they have an American College of Surgeons cancer program.
Factors that were cited as possible reasons for the rapid growth in palliative care programs were:
- The increase in the numbers and costs of caring for chronically ill Medicare patients. Palliative care programs have been proven to reduce costs.
- Studies that have shown inadequate treatment of pain and symptoms, poor communication and coordination of care.
- And, the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been invested in the growth of the field by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and others.
The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
The goal of palliative care is to relieve suffering and ensure the best possible quality of life for people facing advanced chronic and life-threatening illness. It is provided alongside all other appropriate curative treatment. Hospital palliative care programs have been associated with improvements in both healthcare quality and healthcare costs.
By 2030, 20% of the U.S. population will be over 65 and most will eventually have one or more chronic illnesses. "Patient demands are changing. People want quality of life and relief from suffering. Usually palliative care programs are flooded with referrals once word gets out that a program has been started," commented Dr. Diane Meier, Director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care and one of the study's authors.
The study was compiled using the most recent data (2003) from the AHA Annual Survey of Hospitals 2005. It represents an update of an earlier report published in 2001 and provides the first follow-up to Means to a Better End: A Report on Dying in America Today (November 2002). Key findings included:
- Palliative care programs are more readily available to people in hospitals in the Northeast, Pacific, and Mountain regions than in other regions of the country.
- Larger hospitals, academic medical centers, not-for-profit hospitals (including those affiliated with the Catholic Church) and VA hospitals are significantly more likely to develop palliative care programs as compared to city, county and state and for-profit hospitals.
- Hospitals are more likely to have a palliative care program if they own their own hospice.
- Hospitals are more likely to have a palliative care program if they have an American College of Surgeons cancer program.
Factors that were cited as possible reasons for the rapid growth in palliative care programs were:
- The increase in the numbers and costs of caring for chronically ill Medicare patients. Palliative care programs have been proven to reduce costs.
- Studies that have shown inadequate treatment of pain and symptoms, poor communication and coordination of care.
- And, the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been invested in the growth of the field by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and others.
The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine
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Expanded insurance benefits break down barriers to hospice care, according to new study
Patients with advanced illnesses more than doubled their use of hospice care when a major national health plan made hospice care more readily accessible, according to the results of a comparative study published in Journal of Palliative Medicine.
Palliative care intervention for patients with advanced cancer provides quality of life benefits
Patients with advanced cancer who received a palliative care intervention focused on addressing physical and psychosocial issues and care coordination that was provided at the same time as cancer treatment reported improved quality of life and mood but did not experience a significant change in the number of days in the hospital or the severity of their symptoms compared to patients who received usual care.
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Patients with atrial fibrillation, common in those with advanced chronic heart failure, have an increased risk of hospitalization due to heart failure.
Acupuncture Eases Radiation-Induced Dry Mouth in Cancer Patients
Twice weekly acupuncture treatments relieve debilitating symptoms of xerostomia - severe dry mouth - among patients treated with radiation for head and neck cancer, researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the current online issue of Head & Neck.
Young women warned of lung cancer risks
Seventeen people are still dying from lung cancer each week in Northern Ireland despite a small improvement in survival rates for the disease.
Study finds race and ethnicity affect use of hospice services among patients with advanced cancer
Race and ethnicity appear to have an effect on whether a patient with terminal cancer uses hospice care services, according to a study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC).
Brown Expert Offers Guide to End-of-Life Care
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