Heart Failure Patients Choosing Alternative Venues for End-of-Life Care
An ever increasing number of patients with heart failure are choosing hospice care for the last few months of their lives. End of life costs have progressively gone up for this population, however the trend towards hospice and other palliative venues may actually be a money saver.
According to a recent studies of both Americans and Canadians, from 2000 to 2007 the use of hospice by Medicare heart failure patients went up by 19% and the discharge to home care also increased.
As patients and families become better educated as to the varying care options available to them, the options for living one’s closing days are shifting away from acute care hospitals to more embracing settings.
