Outcomes and characteristics of patients discharged alive from hospice.

Objectives: To describe outcomes and characteristics of patients discharged alive from hospice.

Design: Prospective cohort study using a telephone survey.

Setting: Hospices (n=18) participating in the Population-Based Palliative Care Research Network during the 1-year study period.

Predictors of live hospice discharge: data from the National Home and Hospice Care Survey (NHHCS).

In the context of the current regulatory environment, patients may be discharged from hospice if their condition stabilizes or improves over time and the certifying physician is unable to provide a conscientious recertification of the six-month prognosis. Little is known about the characteristics or outcomes of patients who are determined by physicians to no longer be eligible for hospice care. This retrospective study was designed to characterize the rates and predictors of live hospice discharge using data from the 1996 and 1998.