People and dollars: the experience of one hospice

The Hospice of the North Shore (HONS) provides home hospice care, using local hospitals when inpatient care is essential. The actual cost of 4,779 patient days of care delivered from May 1, 1980 through Dec 31, 1981 was $14.26 per patient day. The median length of service was 31.5 days, with a mean of 66.4 days. Care was provided to 22.3% of all those dying of cancer during 1981 within the service area of the HONS. It is estimated that each patient receiving hospice care avoids 11.05 days of traditional inpatient care, resulting in a saving of $3,167.06 during the index period of this study. If this saving were extrapolated to a national scope, it is conservatively predicted that approximately $266,000,000 could be saved annually. The experience of the HONS strongly supports further development of outpatient, home care hospice organizations.