Hospice care for dying patients: a look at the issues.

Hospice care for dying patients is an alternative to institutionalized dying that is gaining increasing acceptance. This article focuses on unresolved issues involved in planning for hospice care, including third-party reimbursement, the lack of health planning data, the lack of agreed-upon standards for high-quality hospice care, and the question of acceptance by the medical community. Questions that should be asked before a hospital embarks on a hospice program also are included.