Hospice care in the long term care facility

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Gerontology
• Palliative Care

Background:

• Modern healthcare delivery is complex, influenced by numerous regulations and external pressures.
• Healthcare providers must navigate Medicare, Medicaid, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), and lobbying groups like the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
• Shifting political landscapes impact traditional reimbursement models, challenging independent practitioners.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the challenges faced by individual healthcare providers in the current complex healthcare environment.
• To propose a collaborative model between long-term care and hospice professionals.
• To demonstrate how partnerships can enhance care for terminally ill patients.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative analysis of the current healthcare regulatory and reimbursement landscape.
• Conceptual framework development for inter-professional collaboration in end-of-life care.
• Literature review on best practices in long-term care and hospice services.

Main Results:

• The increasing complexity of healthcare regulations and reimbursement policies makes solo practice unsustainable.
• A partnership model between long-term care and hospice offers a viable solution to enhance patient care.
• Collaboration can address challenges and improve the quality of care for the terminally ill.

Conclusions:

• Healthcare providers must adapt to a complex environment by fostering inter-professional relationships.
• Collaborative efforts between long-term care and hospice professionals are essential for improving end-of-life care.
• Partnerships between these sectors can overcome perceived conflicts and enhance patient outcomes.