In this Voices interview, our SVP of Business Development, Deanna Douglass, PharmD, sits down with Hospice News to discuss the parallels between hospice and the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE. She also explains how Enclara is supporting the provision of PACE services and breaks down the areas of the Enclara value proposition that particularly resonate when it comes to that mission.
Hospice News: We have talked previously about your extensive experience in hospice pharmacy. With that perspective, what excites you about this field today?
Deanna Douglass: We continue to see consolidation in the hospice market, both in mergers and acquisitions and cooperative agreements among not-for-profits. There is also a trend toward diversification. There has long been a substantial overlap between home care and hospice, but we’re now seeing these providers looking into other areas of health care. Hospices are finally seeing more traction in terms of palliative care reimbursement. Several states now cover community-based palliative care in their Medicaid programs, and both payers and provider groups are seeing the value of these services in outcomes, customer satisfaction and overall medical spending.
Hospice has traditionally been siloed from the larger health care system in many ways. Would you say that is changing?
I do see a lot of potential for elements of the hospice model to influence other areas of health care. In many ways, hospice is the original value-based care. You have a per-diem payment under Medicare, and the hospice is responsible for nearly all the patient’s needs. Now, most of the health care system operates with some value-based components, but we have a long way to go in terms of both controlling costs and improving outcomes. Hospices may have some of the answers.
