What patients are told about hospice: a survey of hospice information pamphlets.

As hospicebecomesa part of the mainstreamhealth care system,patientsandfamilies facing terminalillnesswho are choosinga healthcare provider needinformation about the specificservicesandtheuniqueaspects of hospice.Butdo potentialclientsand theirfamilieshaveaccesstocritical informationregardinghospiceservices? A surveyof patientorientedliterature providedby hospiceagencieswas undertakento determineto what extent essentialelementsof hospicephilosophywereincludedin consumeroriented publicationsdistributed by hospicesin aMidwesternstate. As a result of current healthcare economicsandchangingconsumer attitudes, the Americanpublic is demandingmore informationregarding health care servicesand resources. Shorterhospitalstayshaveresultedin increasednumbersof personsdischargedneedingsome form of posthospitalcare. Since Medicareand manyprivate insurersnow reimbursefor hospicetype care, rapid growth in agencies providing this service can be anticipated. The needfor carefulclient selectionand costcontainmentcould becomean all too important factor.1 There is a concernamonghospice professionalsthat this might result in lower standardsof careandlossof individual services.z3~4 Somefear thatjf third-party reimbursement results in care given by for-profit groups,the holisticphilosophyessential to hospice mightbelost. Assuming,then, that the spirit of hospicemight be jeopardizedas the movementis absorbedinto the more traditional healthcaresystem,it is important that hospicesbecomeproficient in communicatingconcepts centralto thehospicephilosophytothe public andpotentialclients.