• Americans believe that discussions about palliative care and end-of-life treatment options should be fully covered by Medicare.
• Ninety-seven percent of Americans believe that it is important that patients and their families be educated about palliative care and end-of-life care options available to them along with curative treatment.
• Fewer than 40% of patients with advanced cancer have realistic conversations with their providers about treatment options and alternatives.
• Approximately, 20% of patients receive chemotherapy within 14 days of death.
• Patients are often referred to hospice care in the last days of life as a means of managing death, rather than as a tool for palliation of symptoms in the later months of advanced disease.
• One-third of hospice stays are three days or fewer.
• The median length of stay in hospice is approximately three weeks, with 10% of patients enrolling in their last 24 hours of life.
• Patients who have advanced care discussions have lower rates of ventilation, resuscitation, ICU admission, earlier hospice enrollment, longer hospice stays associated with better patient quality of life, and better caregiver quality of life.

Palliative Care

Hospice Care

• Palliative care interventions can significantly improve quality of life and mood, lower symptom intensity, and at the same time help patients to live longer.
• Palliative care improves transitions of care, lowers the likelihood of readmission, and reduces hospital costs.
• The use of opioid and sedative medications for symptom relief does not hasten death.
• Palliative care recipients spend less time in intensive care units, are less likely to die in intensive care units, and are more likely to receive hospice referrals than usual care patients.  

Comprehensive support for people with terminal illnesses. A team of specialists including nurses, social workers, aides, volunteers, spiritual care staff, and doctors collaborate with the patient’s physician to support the patient and family. Hospice care also includes palliative care to help people to live with dignity, comfort, and peace as they approach the end of their lives.

BENEFITS OF HOSPICE CARE:

• Most patients with terminal illness prefer to die at home. Patients with cancer who die in the hospital experience more physical and emotional distress compared with patients who die at home with hospice
• Hospice has been associated with an average of 29 days longer survival time for cancer patients.
• The Medicare hospice benefit has been associated with lower hospital costs and has not been associated with shorter time until death.
  
  

Take Action:

• Promote awareness of palliative care and hospice services at appropriate points in patient care
• Support best professional and institutional practices to improve the quality and availability of services
• Advocate for policy changes that will support reimbursement for advanced care planning conversations; concurrent use of hospice care during active treatment; and a coordinated research agenda
• Partner with C-Change on our Value in Cancer Care initiative