National Scorecard Ranks Palliative Care Across Country

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There are 90 million Americans with conditions such as cancer, heart disease, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease who can benefit from such programs, according to the report, which shows a wide range of palliative care availability in different types of hospitals. Overall, 52.8 percent of American hospitals with more than 50 beds have palliative care programs. But such programs are found in only 20.3 percent of for-profit hospitals, 40.9 percent of publicly funded hospitals and 28.8 percent of hospitals that are sole community providers of medical care, the study found.

"Where you live often determines what kind of care you receive," Morrison said.

"I'm very glad to see that about half of the nation's hospitals have palliative care services, but I certainly wouldn't want to be a sick patient in a hospital that did not have such a service," Storey said. "Even five years ago, we didn't have anywhere near such services available, so the survey shows substantial growth, but the growth is very uneven."

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One way to make the service more widely available is to lobby for it, Morrison said. "You can work with elected representatives to get state funding of palliative care team training. The study we did shows that doing so also lowers the cost."

On a more personal level, talking to a family physician before entering a hospital can help, Storey said. "A lot of patients have a choice about where to go," he said. "They can talk to the doctor about which hospitals have this service available. If physicians report to the hospitals that patients are looking for this service, the hospitals will pay attention."

More information

The state-by-state report card is available from the Center to Advance Palliative Care.

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