title: The future of hospice in a reformed American health care system: what are the real questions?
abstract: Many supporters of the hospice movement are concerned about changes being imposed on the movement by market-based reforms in the larger health care industry. But if they are to truly encourage the preservation of hospice's core goals and values in caring for vulnerable patients with terminal illnesses, they need to understand the realities of day-to-day hospice care under today's managed care system. The future of hospice in America will not be determined by its tax status or administrative structure, but by its functional integration into new systems of care, flexibility in response to emerging terminal care needs, commitment to standards and measurable quality outcomes and clearer articulation of the value an appropriately financed hospice movement can offer to patients at the end of their lives.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Beresford
mesh_terms: D005544:Forecasting; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D014481:United States