Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/41086
Are Physicians and Consumers on the Same Page about Hospice? P PERRY FARMER HYSICIANS SAY THAT hospice is great, but there's too little service and it's offered too late. That's one of the top fi ndings of a new national survey conducted to compare attitudes and perceptions about hospice care among consumers and physicians. Consumers agree with physicians on the quality of hospice and the amount of service that should be provided. But when it comes to the right time to discuss hospice — it's an individual preference. Quality of hospice in the U.S. is good to excellent say both groups. Respondents, which included 700 consumers age 35 and older and 300 physicians familiar with hospice, were asked to rate the quality of hospice care received. The results showed 64% of consumers and 61% of physicians rated the care excellent. As for length of service, physicians and con- sumers agree that patients should be receiving hospice care for at least 90 days, with the majority of the general public (54%) and physicians (52%) identifying six months or longer as the appropriate length of time. But half of hospice patients today receive care for less than three weeks, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Though nearly everyone says they want more time in hospice, there are key differences between physicians and consumers when it comes to initiating the service. Sixty-two percent of doctors said that hospice in America is offered to patients too late. In contrast, 77 percent of the general public said it was offered at the right time. When asked about their own loved ones, one out of three consumers and physicians said they would like to start the hospice conversation at the time of diagnosis or the start of treatment. Yet only one out of fi ve physicians actually starts the conversation then. "Being ready to discuss hospice is clearly a very personal mat- ter," says Perry Farmer, President of Crossroads Hospice, which commissioned the survey. "Sadly, many physicians and patients wait until all treatment options have been exhausted to even bring up the subject. Hospice care helps the terminally ill live the remainder of their lives with comfort and confi dence — it's a godsend to many families." n