| Attend a FREE, half-hour webinar to learn more about hospice utilization in 2014 -- what's up, what's down, what's different, where is hospice heading? October 29, 4:00PM ET (1:00PM Pacific).
To register, send an
email to Jennifer Ballentine |
Our Mission
Hospice Analytics is an information-sharing research organization whose mission is to improve hospice utilization and access to quality end-of-life care through analysis of Medicare and other national datasets.
Collaboration with State Hospice Orgs
More than 50 percent of the State Hospice Organizations participate in Hospice Analytics' Market Reports Project. These State Hospice Organizations represent over 60% of the hospices serving over 70% of the hospice patients in the country. Substantial revenue is shared with participating non-profit State Hospice organizations.
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| Our Staff
719-209-1237
303-521-4111
303-238-5394
502-593-3916
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Hear What Our Clients Are Saying!
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We have really come to appreciate you and the service you provide. It's been invaluable to our work!
--Hospice CEO (TX)
This is really wonderful data! The report . . . has really helped our Board to picture where we are and where we need to go as an organization.
--Hospice Executive Director (NY)
I like your reports and find them invaluable to our business develop-ment work. Keep up the good work!
--Hospice Business Development Manager (WA)
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Speaking & Teaching by Hospice Analytics
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Hospice Analytics has offered workshops and plenary sessions on data analysis and utilization, strategic planning, and other topics at numerous state and national conferences. To arrange an engagement in your state or agency, contact Jennifer Ballentine.
November 8, 2015
Branson, MO
Cordt Kassner
November 12 & 13
Cordt Kassner
Jennifer Ballentine
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We have a lot to announce and share this month, so we'll just get right to it . . .
--Cordt, Jennifer, Cathy, and Joy
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| 2014 Hospice Medicare Data Available Now! |
The 2014 Medicare Claims data have been processed and loaded into InfoMAX!
If you already have an InfoMAX account,
y
o
ur data is already available -- just click on "2014" in the Data Year dropdown menu and you're good to go!
If you don't yet have an InfoMAX account, contact us today to get set up so you can access our 25+ reports on hospice utilization, patient demographics, key care processes, and more for your hospice and your competitors! Subscriptions start at just $
500 set-up plus $150/county for an annual account!
Discounts available for regional, statewide, or national accounts. Click here to view our easy demo.
2014 data for hospice, home health, nursing facilities, and hospitals included! Join our FREE Webinar on October 29, 4:00PM Eastern time, to learn more about hospice utilization in 2014 (RSVP in sidebar).
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Announcing "Speed Data"!
A New Opportunity for Rapid Consultation with Hospice Analytics Experts!
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We know you are in the thick of planning, budgeting, forecasting, strategizing, and generally pulling your hair out by its roots in preparation for the new year.
You have questions; we have data-driven answers.
One-on-one, individualized for your needs.
From now until the end of 2015, you can buy up to an hour of our time anytime and access to all the data, natio
nally, in our exclusive online report-generating tool InfoMAX for just
$600.
Here's how it works.
1. Schedule your "Speed Data" time (up to one hour) with a Hospice Analytics team member
2. Assemble your questions on these topics for your agency or any other agency in your service area or nationally:
- Utilization
- Market share
- Locations and levels of care
- Visit number and length by discipline
- Reimbursement
- Admissions and mortality by provider
- Race, sex, age, demographics of county and hospice patients
- Discharge status
- Cost Report items
- Hospital, SNF, and home health utilization
3. Submit questions one week ahead of scheduled "Speed Data" consult time. We will send login information for the webinar.
4. Log in to the Hospice Analytics webinar at the appointed time.
5. Listen, look, and learn!
For up to one hour, a Hospice Analytics team member will answer your questions* from Medicare claims and cost report data available from InfoMAX.
Don't miss this one-time opportunity to glean up-to-date information for your year-end planning! Call or email us today to reserve your slot!
*Questions must be focused on the topic areas noted above; any questions outside of what can be addressed through InfoMAX will be reserved for consideration at a later date or with other tools and consultants available to Hospice Analytics. We will quote pricing and schedule for the project as defined.
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| Preview of 2014 Data -- National Report Coming Soon! |
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Hospice Analytics data includes all Medicare Hospice claims from all certified providers. This year, we'll be publishing a national report, but here's a preview of what we're seeing so far . . .
| Item |
2013
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2014
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% Change
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% Medicare deaths
preceded by hospice
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45.4
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45.9
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+0.5%
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| # Certified hospices |
3,914
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4,091
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+4.5%
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| % For Profit |
59
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60
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+2.7%
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| # Admissions |
1,304,994
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1,320,405
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+1.2%
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| # Deaths |
946,017
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965,882
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+2.1%
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# Total days of care
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91,044,459
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90,781,803
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-0.3%
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Mean LOS, days
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70
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69
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-1.4%
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Median LOS, days
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24
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23
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-4.2%
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% Discharged alive
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12.8
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11.8
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-7.8%
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Increases in admissions and deaths are expected and about on track with our aging population, but somewhat flatter than the increase in number of hospice agencies. Likewise, the increase in overall utilization is nearly flat, continuing a slowing trend since 2010. Mean and median lengths of stay also went down by 1 day each, also continuing a several year downward trend. The
most significant change is in the average length of stay and in the relative representation of diagnoses at admission:
| % Admissions Dx |
2013
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2014
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% Change
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| Cancer |
29%
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29%
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0%
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| Circulatory Sys |
23%
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27%
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17%
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| Nervous Sys |
12%
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19%
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58%
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| Respiratory |
11%
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11%
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0%
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| Mental Disorders |
10%
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4%
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-60%
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| Ill-Defined Conditions |
6%
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1%
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-91%
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This reflects the mid-2014 exclusion of some dementias and debility unspecified/failure to thrive from eligibility as primary admitting diagnoses: The relative percentage of admissions due to Mental Disorders and Ill-Defined Conditions are thus significantly lower. CMS excluded these diagnoses in part due to their observation that these patients tended to have longer than appropriate (in CMS's view) lengths of stay. By the numbers, it looks like their strategy is having an effect, although perhaps not as big an effect as one might have expected.
Increases in Circulatory System and Nervous System diseases are not so much due to absolute increases in the prevalence of these conditions as in their relative representation among hospice patients. It is interesting, however, that there was not a corresponding increase in the percentage of cancer diagnoses, indicating a continuing relative decrease in cancer in overall hospice admissions.
More detail and analysis to come!
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| More Great Tools Coming Soon! |
Here's a preview of some other great tools scheduled for release in the next few weeks:
- Reports modeling the new Medicare two-tiered payment structure based on your patient history for budget projections.
- Reports offering projections of ADC, based on your hospice actual data and history, for budgeting and staffing plans.
- Home Health Analytics, offering functionality and rich data similar to what Hospice Analytics provides but for the burgeoning Home Health sector.
- Physician Referral Reports, identifying physicians in your service area referring to your hospice and others, with additional descriptive detail.
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Opportunities and Announcements
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New Group Forms to Promote Hospice Quality
Hospice Analytics is honored to join several other staunch advocates in a collective effort to promote hospice quality, accountability, and clinical excellence.
Advocates for Improving Hospice Quality (AIHQ) intends to stimulate conversation and action on these fronts, primarily through publication of a blog and other research and policy-based documents. Check out the
first installment
here.
"Dying in California" Report Published
The California Healthcare Foundation and the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California have jointly published a report on
"Dying in California," identifying status, progress, and gaps in end-of-life care in the state. The report focuses on the five key recommendations of the Institute of Medicine's report of 2014, Dying in America: delivery of care, clinician-patient communication and advance care planning, professional education and development, policies and payment systems, and public education and engagement. The upshot: progress has been made, but gaps and challenges remain
Resources to Oppose Physician-Assisted Suicide
Physician-assisted suicide (aka "physician aid in dying," "physician-assisted death") bills have been introduced in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Several other states have proposals or drafts in process, and lawsuits challenging laws prohibiting PAS have been filed in New York, Tennessee, and California. (As of this writing, however, bills have been defeated or tabled in 16 states; both lawsuits in California have been dismissed, and an appeal of a lawsuit which legalized PAS in New Mexico overturned the ruling. California passed the End-of-Life Option Act in a special session devoted to healthcare financing, and the bill has been signed by Governor Brown. It will take effect sometime in 2016. See updated map of legal status of PAS as of October, 2015.)
If it hasn't already, this issue will soon come to you, and every hospice professional and agency will be called upon to provide accurate information, distinguish hospice from assisted death, and reassure patients and families that relief of suffering is both our specialty and our top priority. Hospice Analytics has been following this issue very closely and has assembled copious fact-based information as well as model position statements and legislative recommendations. Because there appears to be no national clearinghouse or centralized organization opposing PAS, we have assembled opposition resources on our
Web site.
For more information, contact
Jennifer Ballentine
,
303-521-4111.
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