All hospices are not created equal, choose wisely When I read newspaper articles about potential abuses among hospice providers, such as those described last week in The Charlotte Observer or, also recently, in The Washington Post. While stories like these may serve to alert people to the pitfalls of ill-informed decisions regarding hospice care, they also may create unintended consequences that fuel unfounded fears about hospice in general, leading to an avoidance of much-needed care. In all areas of health care there exist undesirable practices and providers who seek to game the system, but they are in the minority. While the hospice industry is certainly not immune, most hospice organizations provide excellent care as validated by a 93.5 percent approval rating in a respected national survey. When selecting a hospice provider, the first question is where the hospice’s closest licensed office is located. Other important considerations are how long the hospice has been serving your community, the availability of chaplain and grief services, and the depth and experience of its after-hours services. Remember, hospice is a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week service that you want close to home. You also want to ask if the hospice is accredited, a member of a national or state hospice association, and whether it provides community education on end-of-life issues. And yes, its tax status is fair game. On the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization website, nhpco.org, there is a “how to choose a hospice provider” checklist to help you through these important decision points. Take the time to access all of the resources at your disposal because being an informed consumer when it comes to hospice is more important than ever. lincolntimesnews/2014/09/01/all-hospices-are-not-created-equal-choose-wisely/
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 13:17:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015