The report provides an update on trends and information on growth, delivery and quality of hospice care provision in the US.
In an article on ehospice USA about the new figures, NHPCO has highlighted its concern about the number of patients who are only making use of hospice services for a very short period of time – in 2012 35.5% of patients died or were discharged within seven days of admission, a statistic consistent with the previous year.
J. Donald Schumacher, PsyD, NHPCO president and CEO, said: “As hospice and palliative care professionals, we need to continue reaching out to patients and family caregivers to help them understand all the benefits that hospice care brings and as part of our ongoing engagement efforts, we must continue our efforts to reach communities that are under-utilizing hospice care.”
The report is published in October each year, just before National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, an annual awareness raising campaign which takes place each November in the US.
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