Medicare Patients Are Less Likely to Die in a Hospital

Where are Medicare patients most likely to die? A 2018 study done by Joan M. Teno, M.D., M.S., Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, and coauthors found that from 2000 to 2015 there was a decline in deaths in an acute-care hospital and an increase in deaths in a home or other community setting such… Continue reading Medicare Patients Are Less Likely to Die in a Hospital

Comparing Hospice Care at Home, at Assisted Living Facilities, and at Nursing Homes

Use of hospice has exploded over the past decades with approximately half of those who die while enrolled in Medicare receiving hospice care. A February 2018 study from the Indiana University Center for Aging Research and the Regenstrief Institute compares the quality of hospice services provided for patients living at home, in assisted living facility,… Continue reading Comparing Hospice Care at Home, at Assisted Living Facilities, and at Nursing Homes

Dying at Home: Pros and Cons

Dying at home could be beneficial for terminally ill cancer patients and their relatives, according to research published in October 2015 in the open-access journal BMC Medicine. On the other hand, an article published the same week in the British Medical Journal (BMJ)contends that home is not always the best or preferred place to die.… Continue reading Dying at Home: Pros and Cons