What Is the Average Stay in Hospice Care?
When you or a loved one is faced with a terminal illness, there will be many questions you want answered. While it’s impossible to foresee the exact future, learning how long the average stay in hospice care is can help you plan, come to terms, and make decisions for the next steps. Learn from an experienced hospice agency about the factors that can affect the hospice care experience.
Hospice Care Vs. Palliative Care
Before we delve into how long the average stay in hospice care is, it’s important to know what hospice care is and how it differs from palliative care. Hospice care is only for people who are diagnosed with a terminal illness and have a life expectancy of six months or less. Hospice care is fully covered by Medicare and MediCal, however many hospice companies accept private insurance as well. Routine hospice care helps to support the patient and their main caregiver. They will receive help with medications, wound care, meals, hygiene, and other tasks of daily living. If the patient’s condition worsens and a higher level of care is needed, round-the-clock hospice care is provided on a short-term basis. While receiving hospice care, curative treatments must cease and are replaced with treatments aimed at symptom management.
Palliative care is also aimed at providing comfort and symptom management, but it can be given at any stage of illness, including while the patient receives curative treatments like chemotherapy. Patients seeking palliative care often incur out-of-pocket costs even if they have insurance. Palliative care is typically provided in medical facilities like hospitals and nursing homes, though it can also be provided in the patient's home. Hospice care is typically provided in the patient’s residence, though under certain circumstances it can be provided in a healthcare facility.
The average stay in hospice care is often shorter than the stay in palliative care because hospice care is reserved for patients who are close to the end stages of life.
How Long Will a Hospice Patient Live
The average stay in hospice care depends on how long the patient will live, though the family members can continue to receive hospice counseling services for years afterward. The National Institute of Health (NIH) states there are certain factors that may affect how long hospice patients will live. These five factors are:
Gender: Males are more likely to pass sooner within the six-month life expectancy period than women.
Age: People younger than 65 years old are more likely to live longer than seniors in hospice.
PPS score: The Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) is an evaluation that assesses how able patients are to care for themselves. The higher the score, the greater the chances are that they will pass sooner.
Diagnosis: Patients who are diagnosed with cancer have a greater likelihood of passing within six months than patients with other illnesses and conditions.
Location: The patients who are the most likely to die sooner are those who are admitted to hospice from a hospital. The next likely are those admitted to hospice from home, and the least likely to die early are those admitted from a nursing home or assisted living facility.
How Long Is the Average Stay in Hospice Care?
According to the NIH, 90% of all patients who enter hospice care die within the six-month life expectancy period. The majority of patients pass away within three weeks, and about 36% pass away in under one week. The main reason why the average stay is so short is that patients enter hospice care when they are close to the end of life. But there are no hard-set rules to follow when judging how long someone with a terminal illness will live. The average stay in hospice care is about 70 days. Some patients will only receive care for several weeks, while others may receive care for several months.
What Happens After Six Months?
According to a 2021 study that was published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, about 12%-15% of hospice patients lived longer than six months. Some patients’ conditions actually improve enough that they can be discharged from hospice, though they are still terminally ill. For other patients who outlive the six-month expectancy period but are still in decline, they must be recertified by a physician. Like the initial determination, the physician must confirm the patient is still deteriorating from their illness and likely has less than another six months to live. The patient may then start a new benefit period of receiving hospice services.
Hospice Care Can Prolong Life
When we look at how long the average stay in hospice care is vs. patient lifespan without hospice services, studies have shown patients may live about 29 days longer while receiving hospice care. Healthcare professionals in hospice work together to give the patient a higher quality of life. While they take care of the patient on a physical level, they also tend to the patient’s mental well-being with spiritual, social, and emotional support. Spiritual and bereavement counselors are available for both the patient and their family members to help them cope with the inevitable. Hospice team members offer empathetic and compassionate care.
Don’t Delay
If you or a loved one meets the qualifications to enter hospice, don’t delay in starting your services. Hospice care is fully covered for patients with MediCal and Medicaid. That means all of the durable medical supplies needed and diagnostic services are provided at no out-of-pocket costs. While the average stay in hospice care varies from patient to patient, you can trust the services being received provide compassion and comfort for the terminally ill.
A & H Hospice is an experienced, empathetic, and ACHC-accredited hospice agency that serves Southern California. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how to get started.