|
|
Hospice and Nonhospice Nursing Home Residents |
|
Overall the clinical conditions of both hospice and nonhospice end-stage residents were similar. A greater percentage of hospice residents were found to have living wills, DNR orders, and cancer, and to be in moderate or severe pain. Hospice and nonhospice residents experienced similar time from admission to death or discharge (20 and 36 days, respectively). Based on the clinical conditions of the two groups, it would appear that there are limited clinical reasons for the low utilization of the hospice benefit in nursing homes. The increased prevalence of advance care planning may lead toward use of hospice or may result from hospice enrollment. Hospice services seem to be thought of more frequently for residents with cancer and residents experiencing pain. Nursing homes must recognize their role as caregivers to the dying before palliative care is seen as a need for nursing home residents.
Nursing homes need education in determining when a patient is appropriate for palliative care as only 4% are designated as end of life, and only 2% are shown to be receiving hospice care in hospice-contracted facilities. Key Words: end-of-life, palliative care, hospice, nursing home residents, nursing home, nursing homes, nursing home quality, quality of care, quality, medicare, medicaid, health Parker-Oliver, D., Porock, D., Zweig, S., Rantz, M., & Petroski, G. (2003). Hospice and nonhospice nursing home residents. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 6(1): 69-75. |