National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) releases its report, Facts and Figures: Hospice Care in America questioning the nations hospice and palliative care providers and how they manage the short time frames of care for patients with serious and life-limiting illness nearing the end of life.
The report addressed issues about how many terminally ill patients benefit from hospice care and services and for what period of time. According to the report based on 2015 results, just over 40 percent of Medicare beneficiaries accessing hospice received care for 14 days or less.
In the report, the numbers indicate that 1,381,182 Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in hospice care for one day or more in 2015.
This includes patients who:
1. Died while enrolled in hospice
2. Were enrolled in hospice in 2014 and continued to receive care in 2015
3. Left hospice care alive during 2015 (live discharges)
Read the report findings here: Facts and Figures: Hospice Care in America