NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- While 87% of patients hospitalized in America are admitted to hospitals with a palliative care team, more and more healthcare organizations are making palliative care services available to patients with serious illness outside of the hospital and in the community settings in which people live.
Community settings include office practices, medical clinics, long-term care facilities, and patients' homes. Several studies show that community palliative care reduces hospital and emergency department visits, lowers acute care costs, and improves care continuity, quality of life, and survival outcomes.
Little information exists on the availability or characteristics of community palliative care. In an attempt to identify these important resources, the Center to Advance Palliative Care has released the first-ever survey and report documenting community-based palliative care programs in America. The project, Mapping: Community Palliative Care, was conducted over three years, among 890 programs.
Key Findings of the survey include:
- More than half of respondents provide palliative care in patients' homes.
- Almost half of community programs (46%) provide palliative care services in an office practice or clinic.
- The majority of community programs treat adult patients only.
- Community and hospital palliative care programs are often interwoven.
"We know that there is great need for community palliative care, but know very little about who, what, and where it's happening nationally," said Maggie Rogers, Senior Research Manager and lead author; The Center to Advance Palliative Care. "This report shows that palliative care in the community is happening and at an even greater scale than we expected. My hope is that we can continue to expand availability of, and access to, palliative care in community settings across he United States while tracking this growth for the field."
This foundational report provides the first scan of community palliative care programs in the United States. Although likely an underrepresentation of the true number, the data provide important insights as to what types of organizations are developing community palliative care, what settings are being served, and the ages of patients being cared for.
All community programs identified in the survey through the Mapping Palliative Care project can be found in the Palliative Care Provider Directory.
About the Center to Advance Palliative Care
The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) is a national organization dedicated to increasing the availability of quality health care for people living with a serious illness. As the nation's leading resource in its field, CAPC provides health care professionals and organizations with the training, tools, and technical assistance necessary to effectively meet this need. CAPC is part of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. http://www.capc.org,
To arrange an interview with the report's authors, please contact John Zoccola at 267.664.2759 or [email protected].
SOURCE The Center to Advance Palliative Care
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