It is our belief that the future of healthcare is in the home. While the pandemic hit hospice organizations hard, it also affirmed our view by illuminating the value of care in the home.
Axxess partnered with Hospice News to conduct a survey of the hospice industry and its ongoing issues. Three trends came as a surprise and should be taken into consideration for adjusting hospice operations.
Surprise Number One: The Downside of Telehealth
As expected, 84 percent of respondents started using telehealth in response to the pandemic. What we did not anticipate were the after-effects of this technology.
- The bonds that tend to form between the hospice clinical team and the patient and their family were more difficult to establish and maintain through a screen.
- For many organizations, there were unexpected costs to purchase devices or software to put these systems in place.
- Staff needed training for how to use the technology and how to provide virtual care effectively.
- These were all tasks that providers needed to implement very quickly. They were learning and adapting on the go, and that presented challenges.
Surprise Number Two: Holistic Care is Limited
The interdisciplinary group (IDG) is crucial to hospice care, but one out of three respondents reported the IDG could not function the way it was designed.
- Patients had anxiety about how many people came into their homes, and the potential exposures led to limited visits by members of the IDG.
- Providers had trouble accessing patients in facilities. Typically, a nurse or nurse practitioner could visit a patient, but the other members of the team were not permitted in the building.
Neglecting visits from the other IDG members, social workers and chaplains is like filling in one pothole instead of just repaving the bumpy road. It completely negates the holistic aspect of hospice care.
Surprise Number Three: Value-Based Payment is No Motivator
Palliative care numbers are on the rise. With the emergence of value-based payment models, it was assumed these numbers are increasing because the service has proven to improve quality care.
However, 72 percent of respondents answered that payment model did not or will not influence their decision to provide palliative care.
Hospice leaders have a genuine sense of responsibility that people need palliative care, and providing it is the right thing to do.
Learn From the Trends: A Successful Strategy
With widespread vaccination, hospices have begun to perform visits in person again, and some are still using telehealth to augment those services rather than replace them.
While in-person IDG visits are ideal, successful organizations have started using telehealth strategically for hospice and palliative care to triage patients and determine when a home visit is necessary.
This is more efficient, as fewer employees traveling for visits ensures they are responding to patients who have the greatest immediate needs. A round-the-clock touch point available for patients and their families is an advantage that can attract new patients and increase referrals.
This strategy allows the provider to intervene more quickly to determine how they can meet the patient’s needs without higher acuity care.
The pandemic drove a great deal of change and strain on healthcare providers throughout the continuum. It is essential for hospices to gather data on what they have experienced and how they have adapted to predict how that will affect their business and clinical operations in the long term.
Watch this LinkedIn Live for more on hospice trends and possible reimbursement
Axxess Hospice, a cloud-based hospice and palliative care software, offers documentation at the point of care and a streamlined IDG workflow for better coordination of care.
