Physicians Urged to Ensure Access to Hospice for an Often 'Invisible' Population

Nursing homes are the permanent site of care for more than 1.5 million adults in the U.S., and the site of death for approximately one-third of the population. Physicians play a pivotal role in helping this often “invisible” and vulnerable population receive needed palliative and end-of-life care, according to the authors of an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Hospice Care Report: Median and Average Lengths of Service Continue to Drop

At 1.58 million, the number of patients accessing hospice services remained relatively stable in 2010, risings lightly from the 1.56 million served in 2009. However, the continuing trend towards shorter lengths of stay presents a cause for concern, according the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), which released its most current annual report in January 2012.

Surgical Intervention Common amongMedicare Patients in the Final Year of Life

Nearly one-third of elderly Americans undergo inpatient surgery in the last year of life, with most of these procedures occurring within a month before death, a team of Boston researchers has found. In addition, substantial variation was identified in the intensity of end-of-life (EOL) surgery across local regions.