Hospice Administrators’ and Providers’ Perspectives on Providing Upstream Palliative Care: Facilitators, Barriers, and Policy Prescriptions

Among patients with serious illness, palliative care before hospice enrollment is associated with improved quality of life, reduced symptom burden, and earlier transitions to hospice. However, fewer than half of eligible patients receive specialty palliative care referrals. As most hospice clinicians and administrators have experience in specialty palliative care, several emerging programs propose engaging hospice clinicians to provide early palliative care.