Understanding delayed hospice referrals
Discussion Draft
Janet Zarzour
Middle Tennessee State University
April 4, 2016
Discussion
Literature findings concluded there are identifiable barriers to early hospice referrals. Past studies have discovered certain barriers that prevent health care providers from referring an individual for hospice care in a timely manner. Studies have shown delayed referrals lead to inadequate management of physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the patient and their family members. Even though Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurances provide hospice benefits, not every terminally dying person was given to option to receive this specialized care.
Gaps in Knowledge
Very few evidenced based studies included …show more content…
Practitioners have identified common roadblocks that arise during end of life care conversations and why these conversations are sometimes frequently avoided. Unfortunately, even with the growing knowledge of barriers to end of life care, the literature reveals that very few physician practices or health care organizations have incorporated additional end of life care training or provided appropriate educational tools to help reduce barriers to end of life care. Future quantitative research is needed to determine the effectiveness of incorporating newly designed end of life care tools into the electronic record to determine if this may help improve timely hospice and palliative care …show more content…
Other limitations found in the qualitative studies were a lack of response from physicians in sub-specialties outside of the oncology setting. A larger sample size may provide a more diverse collection of information. Many of the studies reviewed only focus on the physicians’ knowledge of hospice care and their perceived barriers to end of life care. Further qualitative and quantitative studies are needed to investigate the patients’ and caregivers ‘perspective to barriers to terminal care. Failure to incorporate both perspectives creates bias among the literature and leaves out some of the most important knowledge that can be obtained and applied in the area of receiving timely end of life care. A wider range of quantitative or mixed method studies is also needed to explore ways to implement and monitor effective, end of life care educational tools within the health care system. Limited research data is available that discusses the pros and cons of utilizing the latest tools and innovations to facilitate end of life care conversations and assist physicians with timely hospice referrals. Further quantitative and qualitative studies are needed that compare the effectiveness of physicians having end of life care conversations early in the disease trajectory as opposed to days or hours before a patient expires. Research that uses the
Discussion Draft
Janet Zarzour
Middle Tennessee State University
April 4, 2016
Discussion
Literature findings concluded there are identifiable barriers to early hospice referrals. Past studies have discovered certain barriers that prevent health care providers from referring an individual for hospice care in a timely manner. Studies have shown delayed referrals lead to inadequate management of physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the patient and their family members. Even though Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurances provide hospice benefits, not every terminally dying person was given to option to receive this specialized care.
Gaps in Knowledge
Very few evidenced based studies included …show more content…
Practitioners have identified common roadblocks that arise during end of life care conversations and why these conversations are sometimes frequently avoided. Unfortunately, even with the growing knowledge of barriers to end of life care, the literature reveals that very few physician practices or health care organizations have incorporated additional end of life care training or provided appropriate educational tools to help reduce barriers to end of life care. Future quantitative research is needed to determine the effectiveness of incorporating newly designed end of life care tools into the electronic record to determine if this may help improve timely hospice and palliative care …show more content…
Other limitations found in the qualitative studies were a lack of response from physicians in sub-specialties outside of the oncology setting. A larger sample size may provide a more diverse collection of information. Many of the studies reviewed only focus on the physicians’ knowledge of hospice care and their perceived barriers to end of life care. Further qualitative and quantitative studies are needed to investigate the patients’ and caregivers ‘perspective to barriers to terminal care. Failure to incorporate both perspectives creates bias among the literature and leaves out some of the most important knowledge that can be obtained and applied in the area of receiving timely end of life care. A wider range of quantitative or mixed method studies is also needed to explore ways to implement and monitor effective, end of life care educational tools within the health care system. Limited research data is available that discusses the pros and cons of utilizing the latest tools and innovations to facilitate end of life care conversations and assist physicians with timely hospice referrals. Further quantitative and qualitative studies are needed that compare the effectiveness of physicians having end of life care conversations early in the disease trajectory as opposed to days or hours before a patient expires. Research that uses the