A National Study of Healthcare Service Patterns at the End of Life Among Children With Cardiac Disease.
Lisa C Lindley, Radion Svynarenko, Kim Mooney-Doyle and 3 others
PMID 34935739WHAT IT FOUND
Children with cardiac disease in hospice still used heavy amounts of other care.
Most needed only moderate services like meds and doctor visits, but a high-intensity group used nearly everything, especially home health, often in rural areas.
Key findings
01The study identified two groups of service use: a Moderate Intensity group (980 children) and a High Intensity group (655 children).
02Children in the High Intensity group had a greater than 10% likelihood of using almost all non-hospice services, including home health.
03The High Intensity group was more likely to live in rural areas and the South compared to the Moderate Intensity group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study only looked at Medicaid beneficiaries, so results may not apply to children with private insurance or Tricare. The data is from 2011-2013, which may not reflect current care patterns. The study used ICD-9-CM codes, which might not capture the full complexity of diagnoses compared to newer coding systems. The study did not examine the specific types of cardiac treatments or the coordination between hospice and home health teams.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume all children in hospice have minimal medical needs. This study shows a significant subset continues to use high volumes of non-hospice services, including home health and hospital care, requiring active coordination from the nursing team.