Strategies to Enhance the Affordability of Hospice and Palliative Care Services
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Mentor Information
Dr. Irene Hurst
Description
Healthcare affordability in the USA today is a massive epidemic, with treatment prices rising tremendously on a day-to-day basis. This research aims to find efficient solutions to aid affordability in vulnerable populations, specifically the hospice and palliative care population. Vulnerability in a population is defined as a risk for facing healthcare disparities at accessing standardized healthcare due to economic, cultural, ethnic or health characteristics. Hospice care is geared towards providing end-of-life care for people with serious terminal illnesses, while palliative care involves providing resources to anyone who is living with serious illnesses like heart failure, dementia, etc. It is estimated that only 14% of the people who need palliative care worldwide actually receive it. Using studies from electronic databases, including PubMed, CDC, and WHO, we performed a systematic literature review to understand the challenges of offering quality palliative and hospice care. Articles published from 2014 to 2024 were selected and examined using the criteria of whether they discussed the challenges of palliative and hospice care. We also used Excel to analyze data from NIH for real-world evidence of these disparities within healthcare. Primary barriers to affordable care are high costs of services, lack of education, and widespread disparities in quality of care. Some proposed solutions include increasing choice of bundled payments, increased awareness of care through government agencies, and periodic evaluation of quality of care at healthcare institutions. By optimizing hospice and palliative care, both patients and their families can experience better quality of physical and emotional well-being.
Strategies to Enhance the Affordability of Hospice and Palliative Care Services
Healthcare affordability in the USA today is a massive epidemic, with treatment prices rising tremendously on a day-to-day basis. This research aims to find efficient solutions to aid affordability in vulnerable populations, specifically the hospice and palliative care population. Vulnerability in a population is defined as a risk for facing healthcare disparities at accessing standardized healthcare due to economic, cultural, ethnic or health characteristics. Hospice care is geared towards providing end-of-life care for people with serious terminal illnesses, while palliative care involves providing resources to anyone who is living with serious illnesses like heart failure, dementia, etc. It is estimated that only 14% of the people who need palliative care worldwide actually receive it. Using studies from electronic databases, including PubMed, CDC, and WHO, we performed a systematic literature review to understand the challenges of offering quality palliative and hospice care. Articles published from 2014 to 2024 were selected and examined using the criteria of whether they discussed the challenges of palliative and hospice care. We also used Excel to analyze data from NIH for real-world evidence of these disparities within healthcare. Primary barriers to affordable care are high costs of services, lack of education, and widespread disparities in quality of care. Some proposed solutions include increasing choice of bundled payments, increased awareness of care through government agencies, and periodic evaluation of quality of care at healthcare institutions. By optimizing hospice and palliative care, both patients and their families can experience better quality of physical and emotional well-being.
