U.S. researchers question for-profit hospice care

William Atkins
Thursday, 19 May 2011 02:05

Science - Health

In the article 'In the Business of Dying: Questioning the Commercialization of Hospice' two American researchers comment on the ethical and quality concerns that come with treating terminal hospice patients with for-profit organizations.

 

Dr. Robert C. Stone is an emergency medicine physician in Bloomington, Indiana and an assistant medical director at a hospital hospice program at Indiana University, in Bloomington. Dr. Joshua E. Perry is a professor of business law and ethics at Indiana University.

They have written a paper that appears in the summer 2011 issue (volume 39, issue 2) of the Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics.

The paper is entitled 'In the Business of Dying: Questioning the Commercialization of Hospice.'

Its abstract begins, 'This article critically questions the commercialization of hospice care and the ethical concerns associated with the industry's movement toward 'market-driven medicine' at the end of life.'

Dr. Stone makes a statement about a potentially serious problem with the use of a for-profit company for hospice care.

Stone states, "Under a corporate model of hospice care, there's an inherent conflict of interest between a company's drive to maximize profits and a patient's need for the kind of holistic, multidisciplinary and compassionate care originally envisioned by the founders of the modern hospice movement.' [EurekAlert: 'Rise of for-profit hospice industry raises troubling questions, new study says']

Hospice care is the medical care given to terminally ill patients with respect to their symptoms, both physical and mental in nature.

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