National Policies Fostering Hospice Care Increased Hospice Utilization and Reduced the Invasiveness of End-of-Life Care for Cancer Patients.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In 2011, two national policies aiming to foster hospice services for terminal cancer patients took effect in Taiwan. The single-payer National Health Insurance of Taiwan started to reimburse full hospice services. The national hospital accreditation program, which graded all hospitals, incorporated hospice utilization in its evaluation. We assessed the impact of these national policies.

Methods

A cohort of 249,394 patients aged ≥18 years who died of cancer between 2008 and 2013 were identified from the National Death Registry. We retrieved utilization data of medical services and compared the health care utilization in the final month of life before and after the implementation of the new policies.

Results

After the policy changes, hospice utilization incre

SUBMITTER: Shao YY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5507639 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature