Hospice is a program of supportive services for terminally ill patients and their families, provided either at home or in designated inpatient settings, which is purported to improve patient and family quality of life at lower cost than conventional…
Since the founding of the first hospice in the United States in 1974, the number of health care organizations providing hospice services has grown rapidly. In 1978, the U.S. General Accounting Office identified 59 operational hospices [1]. A survey…