NHPCO has released their annual facts and figures report which reports on hospice and palliative care statistics for 2014. You can review the entire report here. This article contains some of the highlights.  

Highlights from NHPCO’s Facts and Figures: Hospice Care in America. 

• The number of hospice patients continued to grow in 2014 to 1,656,353 (up from 1,542,737 in 2013). 
• The median length of stay per patient decreased from 18.5 days in 2013, to 17.4 days in 2014.
• The percentage of patients who died or were discharged within seven days of admission increased from 34.5% in 2013 to 35.5% in 2014. 
• The percentage of patients receiving care in an IPU increased in 2014 to 31.8% from 26.4% while the percentage of patients receiving care in their residence fell from 66.6% in 2013 to 58.9% in 2014. 
• Cancer remained the primary diagnosis for hospice patients (36.6%) followed by Dementia (14.8%) and Heart Disease (14.7%). 
• The number of hospice programs continued to increase from 5,800 in 2013 to 6,100 in 2014. 
• The percentage of for-profit hospice programs continued to increase with 28% of hospice providers assigned non-profit status and 68% holding for-profit status.