Even though most patients with advanced cancer prefer care that minimizes symptoms, many still receive intense treatment and are not admitted into hospice care until their last three days of life, according to research from the Dartmouth Atlas Project. Although hospice care for Medicare patients with advanced cancer is increasing, so are the rates of treatment in intensive care units.
Since the last Dartmouth Atlas report, the trends in end-of-life cancer care across the country have been mixed. While patients are spending fewer days hospitalized in the last month of life, the number of days in ICUs has increased. Hospice days have also increased, but a growing proportion of patients begin receiving hospice services in the last three days of life, a time period often too short to provide patients the full benefit of hospice care. Find out what the key finds where here.
