A study published in JAMA finds that while more seniors are dying with hospice care than a decade ago, they are increasingly doing so for very few days right after being in intensive care. The study's lead author, Dr Joan Teno, professor of health services policy and practice in the Public Health Program at Brown University and a palliative care physician at Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island, questions if for many seniors palliative care happens only as an afterthought. Additionally, Prof. Teno warns that for many patients, hospice is an 'add-on' to a very aggressive pattern of care during the last days of life and it might not be what patients want. Read more here.
Study mentioned: Teno JM, et al. Change in end-of-life care for Medicare beneficiaries: site of death, place of care, and health care transitions in 2000, 2005, and 2009. JAMA. 2013 Feb 6;309(5):470-7. PMID: 23385273
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