Author ORCID Identifier
M Courtney Hughes: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8699-5701
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Hospice Capacity to Provide General Inpatient Care: Emergency Department Utilization and Live Discharge Among Cancer Patients
Abstract
General inpatient (GIP) hospice care is used only minimally for hospice patients, and more than a quarter of Medicare hospice facilities do not provide GIP care. To determine the impact of hospices’ capacity to provide on emergency department use during hospice enrollment and live discharge from hospice, we used Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare linked data and CMS Provider of Services data from 2007 to 2013 from ten states and two metropolitan regions. Grouping hospices into three GIP care provision categories: 1) no-GIP; 2) GIP-contract; and 3) GIP-IHF where hospices directly provide GIP care in their own inpatient hospice facility (IHF), we built a multilevel logistic model that accounted for unobserved hospice characteristics. Nearly 9% of the study sample received GIP care, of which 82% received such care in the last week of discharge. GIP-IHF hospices had lower live discharge rates than no-GIP hospices (AOR: .61; 95% CI: .47-.79; P < .001) and GIP-contract hospices (AOR: .84; 95% CI: .70-1.00; P < .05). Similarly, GIP-contract hospices were also associated with a decreased risk of live discharge, compared to no-GIP hospices (AOR: .76; CI: .62-.92; P < .05). There was no difference in emergency department use between no-GIP hospices and hospices with such capacity. Our results suggest that hospices capable of providing GIP care have lower live discharge rates than their counterparts. However, the fact that GIP care tends to be provided too close to death limits its effectiveness in preventing avoidable emergency department use.
First Page
63
Last Page
72
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/10499091231170598
Publication Date
2024
Recommended Citation
Chung, K., Hughes, M. C., Koushkaki, S. R., Risberg, M. R., Alcantara, M., & Amico, J. M. (2024). Hospice Capacity to Provide General Inpatient Care: Emergency Department Utilization and Live Discharge Among Cancer Patients. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®, 41(1), 63-72.
Original Citation
Chung, K., Hughes, M. C., Koushkaki, S. R., Risberg, M. R., Alcantara, M., & Amico, J. M. (2024). Hospice Capacity to Provide General Inpatient Care: Emergency Department Utilization and Live Discharge Among Cancer Patients. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®, 41(1), 63-72.
Department
School of Health Studies
