Marketing your CMS Hospice Compare scores (Part II – Family experience of care)

Increase your physician referrals by marketing your CMS Hospice Compare Scores. There is an excellent marketing tool available through CMS that many hospice agencies are not utilizing. CMS’s Hospice Compare site provides potential patients and referring physicians with a published track record of how your agency’s performance stacks up to the competition. Physicians want to refer patients to proven hospice providers, so naturally promoting your above average compare scores is an excellent way to boost referrals.

• The Hospice Compare scores are broken down into five categories:

• General Information: Levels of Care

• Conditions

• Location of care

• Family experience of care

• Quality of care

Your agency may not excel in all measures, but you can highlight areas where you do excel and work on the areas where your team is falling behind the national averages.

The Family experience of care section is the important area of the survey where family caregivers of patients who died while under hospice care are asked about their experiences with hospice. These scores can directly affect the success of your agency:

1. Communication with family - This question generally brings a high score by most patients surveyed. A score less than 80% could indicate the need for more interaction from social workers and counselors to help explain the dying experience to overwrought caregivers. (National Average 80%)

2. Getting timely help - Hospice patients can experience agitation, disorientation, and general discomfort which they often cannot articulate to their family caregiver. This can cause severe anxiety for caregivers. An 80% score means your agency is above average in responding to patients and their caregivers. Marketing timeliness is always a good way to increase physician referrals. (National Average is 78%)

3. Treating patient with respect* - This score is a composite percentage of two survey questions: A. Did the team treat the patient with dignity and respect? B. How much to you believe the hospice team really cared about their loved one? A score below 90% to this question is a red flag for your team, not only for potential patients using the hospice compare site, but also for agency administrators. It is an indication of understaffing, overscheduling, and staff performance which is not reflective of the hospice mission. (National average 91%) 

4. Emotional and spiritual support* - This score is a composite percentage of three survey questions: A. How much emotional support was received from the hospice team while their family member was in hospice care? B. How much emotional support they received from the hospice team in the weeks after their family member died? C. How much support they received for their religious or spiritual beliefs? This is a great score to market if your agency recorded a 90% or better. (National Average 90%)

5. Help for pain and symptoms* - Though this percentage is a composite of several questions it is a difficult area of the survey to market as many family members mistake the limitations of medical pain relief with poor pain management. You may want to avoid marketing your results on this question unless you score well above the national average. (National Average 75%)

6. Training family to care for patient* - This is another composite question that focuses mainly on medication education and symptom recognition. A below average score on this question may indicate the need for training modification. (National Average 75%)

7. Rating of this hospice - Family caregivers rate the hospice agency on a scale of 0 – 10. The published score is the percentage of people who rate the agency at 9 or 10. A score less than 80% could indicate the need for a staff review of best practices. (National Average 81%)

8. Willing to recommend this hospice - This score is the yardstick whereby you can measure your agency’s success. Hospice is compassionate care for the dying and their families. If someone is not willing to recommend your agency to help others through this journey, you need to evaluate your staff, your training, and your company mission. (National Average 84%)

Reviewing your agency’s compare scores should be a routine part of your continuous improvement program. Superior patient care and satisfaction are both firm foundations to build your business on. Above average scores can translate to referrals, and we offer a referral building tool to highlight them. Visit the TAG Webstore or call us at 866-232-6477 for more information on our Choosing Hospice Flyer for Physicians, and take the next step in successful Hospice marketing.

*Scores are composite averages of multiple survey questions. 

Holidays and Hospice

Hospice provides a wide range of services for people with life-limiting illnesses. Along with compassionate end of life care for the patient, they provide counseling and emotional support for their families. Families are often bewildered, anxious, and physically exhausted by the time their loved one is eligible for hospice care, and it’s common for them to begin grieving at the time of enrollment. Hospice social workers and chaplains offer bereavement support for family members from the very first visit.

Hospice agencies, on average, provide bereavement support for a year after patient death.  Their support services are especially important for families grieving during the holidays. Holidays can be stressful at the best of times, but when one is experiencing them for the first time without their spouse, sibling, or child they can be dreadfully so. Hospice counselors and support groups are available to lean on during these trying times.

Healing is an organic process that makes the journey from heart break to hope different for each person. Here are a few suggestions to help family members handle grief at the holidays:

• Give yourself permission to do things differently if you don’t feel like participating in traditional holiday activities.

• Plan an exit strategy for social gatherings in case you become overwhelmed.

• Find alternatives to big celebrations like having an intimate dinner with close friends.

• Celebrate your loved one by reading their favorite book, listening to their play list, or watching that special holiday movie you both enjoyed.

• Try not to isolate yourself from friends and family, just limit your interactions if being around them is too much. It’s okay to cut it short and just make an appearance.

• Be kind to yourself. Accept that this could be a rough time for you so take extra care to insulate yourself against any situation that you feel you are not ready for.

Hospice marketing should always include bereavement support. Visit TAGWebstore.com for all your hospice print media. 

Resources: Grief.com, griefnet.org, hellogrief.org