Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this quality improvement initiative was to provide hospice education to healthcare providers to increase their understanding of earlier hospice referrals for enhanced quality of life.
Background
Patients with end-stage disease have complex situations and need as much support as possible. The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) recommends that clients receive a minimum of 90 days in hospice to provide optimal multidimensional end-of-life care. The median hospice stay is approximately 24 days (NHPCO, 2019).
Methods
A hospice eligibility resource was emailed to 19 clinics in the hospice service area. Follow-up visits were conducted by the hospice team to each clinic with a gesture of appreciation with a QR link to a video prepared by the hospice team and former medical director discussing the importance of earlier referral and hospice services. The outcomes were measured with the admission palliative performance scale (PPS) score and length of stay after education implementation.
Results
Eighteen of the nineteen clinics participated in receiving the education. There was an overall increase in number of admissions and admission PPS scores. The greatest significance was an increase in collaboration with providers in the hospice service area and hospice team and increased referrals from providers that had not been referring patients.
Conclusions
The goal was to provide education to the hospice service area providers to increase earlier hospice referrals. The project provides evidence that this was an effective quality improvement initiative and also increased the collaboration between referring providers and the hospice team.
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Janelle Harding
Department/Program
Nursing
Submission Type
online only poster
Date
4-9-2026
Rights
Copyright the Author(s)
Recommended Citation
Swaney, Ruth A.
(2026)
"Implementation of Primary Care Provider Education to Increase Earlier Hospice Referrals,"
SACAD: Scholarly Activities: Vol. 2026, Article 139.
Available at:
https://scholars.fhsu.edu/sacad/vol2026/iss2026/139
Virtual Presentation
