The number of U.S. hospitals with palliative care teams increased for the 10th consecutive year, according to a new analysis from the Center to Advance Palliative Care.
In 2010, the last year for which data are available, there were 1,635 palliative care teams in hospitals – an increase of 4.3% over 2009 and an increase of 148.5% since 2000. In 2010, almost 66% of hospitals had a palliative care team, compared with 24.5% in 2000, the CAPC reported.
By region, the South had a much lower prevalence of hospitals with palliative care teams (53%) than the rest of the country: Northeast (76%), Midwest (75%), and West (71%). In terms of hospital size, those with 300 or more beds had an 88% prevalence of palliative care teams, compared with 57% for hospitals with 50-299 beds, the CAPC said.
The analysis – based mainly on data from the American Hospital Association and supplemented by data from the CAPC’s National Palliative Care Registry – excluded hospitals with less than 50 beds and those that are controlled by the federal government, such as Veterans Affairs hospitals.