Osterweis M, Champagne D S
Am J Public Health. 1979 May;69(5):492-6. doi: 10.2105/ajph.69.5.492.
A grass-roots hospice care movement is underway in the United States modeled after recently popularized British hospice programs. Hospice care is intended to help the terminally ill maintain a personally acceptable quality of life until death. Attention should be given to ensuring the future viability of this service option by allowing for experimentation with and adaptation of existing models, and by integrating it with the overall health care system. Issues to be considered in integrating hospice care include utilization of existing resources, regional planning, standards and licensure, and reimbursement opportunities. Although hospice care may not have an immediate cost savings impact on the health care system, it could develop this capacity in the future. Such impact would not only assure a stable financial base for hospice care but would also affect bed use generally. Continuing dialogue among providers, consumers, and policy makers of various backgrounds is necessary to the effective and appropriate development of hospice care in the U.S.
一场以近期广受欢迎的英国临终关怀项目为蓝本的基层临终关怀运动正在美国开展。临终关怀旨在帮助绝症患者维持个人可接受的生活质量直至死亡。应通过允许对现有模式进行试验和调整，并将其与整体医疗保健系统相结合，来关注确保这一服务选项未来的可行性。在整合临终关怀时需考虑的问题包括现有资源的利用、区域规划、标准与执照发放以及报销机会。尽管临终关怀可能不会立即对医疗保健系统产生节省成本的影响，但它未来可能会发展出这种能力。这种影响不仅能确保临终关怀有稳定的资金基础，还会普遍影响床位的使用。不同背景的提供者、消费者和政策制定者之间持续对话对于美国临终关怀的有效且恰当发展至关重要。
