TN hospice takes the lead on palliative quality reporting

A Nashville hospice care provider has become the first U.S. hospice organization to publicize its care quality data, raising the bar for others in the palliative care industry.

Hospice Compassus, which operates 49 sites across 14 states, began gathering its own data in 2001, a year before the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services enacted its national reporting requirements. Metrics included how well the caregivers addressed patient pain thresholds and how well they educated patients and families on care choices.

Based on the company’s first year of data,  81 percent of the organization’s patients felt their pain was controlled within the first 48 hours, with one-third of the locations reporting 97 percent patient satisfaction. The percentage of families that reported they had received adequate education on their loved one’s condition rose from 84 percent to 85 percent.

"Hospice Compassus has established a solid benchmark and demonstrated how its national initiative drives quality improvements," said Sean Morrison, MD, Hermann Merkin Professor of Palliative Care at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Director of the National Palliative Care Research Center in a press statement. "As we review our progress, address what has worked, what needs renewed focus, and chart our course for continued improvement over the next year and beyond, we are encouraged by the achievements to date and by the significant impact our ongoing efforts will have on hospice care in the U.S. and the patients and families we serve."

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.