title: Transitions Between Healthcare Settings of Hospice Enrollees at the End of Life.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To characterize the number and types of care transitions in the last 6 months of life of individuals who used hospice and to examine factors associated with having multiple transitions in care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred percent fee-for-service Medicare decedent claims data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medicare beneficiaries aged 66 and older who died between July 1, 2011, and December 31, 2011, and were enrolled in hospice at some time during the last 6 months of life.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hierarchical generalized linear modeling was used to identify individual, hospice, and regional factors associated with transitions. The sequence of transitions across healthcare settings was described. Healthcare transitions after hospice enrollment included from and to the hospital, skilled nursing facility, home health agency program, hospice, or home without receiving any service in these four healthcare settings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 311,090 hospice decedents, 31,675 (10.2%) had at least one transition after hospice enrollment, and this varied substantially across the United States; 6.6% of all decedents had more than one transition in care after hospice enrollment (range 2-19 transitions). Of hospice users with transitions, 53.4% were admitted to hospitals, 17.7% were admitted to skilled nursing facilities, 9.6% used home health agencies, and 25.8% had transitions to home without receiving the services from the healthcare settings examined. In adjusted analyses, decedents who were younger, nonwhite, enrolled in a for-profit or small hospice program, or had less access to hospital-based palliative care had significantly higher odds of having at least one transition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A notable proportion of hospice users experience at least one transition in care in the last 6 months of life, suggesting that further research on the effect of transitions on users and families is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.|Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, Yale Cancer Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Shi-Yi
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, New York.|James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: Melissa D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Aldridge
authors.affiliation: Cancer Outcomes, Public Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center, Yale Cancer Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.|Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Cary P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Canavan
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cherlin
authors.affiliation: John D. Thompson Hospice Institute for Education, Training, and Research, Inc., Branford, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Rosemary
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Johnson-Hurzeler
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bradley
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D005260:Female; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare; D010360:Patient Transfer; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States
keywords: end-of-life care; hospice; transitions in care