title: Family evaluation of hospice care: results from voluntary submission of data via website.
abstract: The Family Evaluation of Hospice Care (FEHC) survey is a 61-item questionnaire that surveys family members about care provided to the decedent by the hospice. Hospices submit their data to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), where results are tabulated. For the first two quarters of 2004, a total of 29,292 surveys were tabulated. On average, respondents rated their overall satisfaction with care as 47.1 on a 50-point composite scale of five measures of satisfaction. Opportunities for improvement were identified for attending to family needs for support (18.2% of those surveyed reported at least one unmet need), attending to family needs for communication (10-29%), and coordination of care (22.1%). Surrogate reporting of unmet needs for pain, dyspnea, or emotional support ranged from 5.3% to 9.8%. The FEHC is a useful tool for measuring hospice performance and identifies a number of opportunities for improvement.
authors.affiliation: National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Connor
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Teno
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Spence
authors.forename: Neal
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005190:Family; D019538:Health Care Surveys / Q000379:methods; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020407:Internet; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D059408:Pain Management; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000379:methods; D011788:Quality of Life; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014836:Volition; D006801:Humans