|
|
|
Most hospice patients receive most of their care at home.
Although stays in a hospital or skilled-care facility may be necessary
to control a particular symptom, they tend to be infrequent. In
fact, Hospice Medicare requires that 80% of the annual number of
aggregate patient days of care be delivered in the patient's
residence.
For many patients, home is the ideal setting because it's familiar and comforting and filled with the day-to-day activities of life. Unfortunately, home care is not always possible. Some patients may require more intensive treatment for symptom control than can be provided at home. Sometimes, for family reasons, home care is not an option. When home care is not possible, each hospice program is faced the challenge of ensuring that hospice's loving care follows it patients where ever they go. Since most programs don't operate inpatient facilities, our constant challenge is providing continuity of care for all our patients. When hospice patients are transferred from home to another setting to receive short-term treatment for a symptom that can't be controlled at home, or when they reside in a long-term care facility, how can we ensure both continuity and quality of care? How can we ensure continued hospice care in so many different settings when the staff in most health care facilities have little or not training in providing palliative care? How can we ensure adequate pain and symptom control when facility staff are unfamiliar with the treatment protocols and drug dosages commonly used in hospice care? |