Blue Shield, Hill Physicians Launch Hospice Program

Blue Shield of California and Hill Physicians Medical Group have started a primary care-based palliative care program in conjunction with Snowline Hospice, which provides services in Sacramento and El Dorado Counties.

"This new program enables primary care providers to offer palliative care services to patients with advanced illness in collaboration with hospice providers who are expert in palliative care," said Marcus Thygeson, M.D., Blue Shield's Chief Health Officer. "This will improve care for seriously ill people and support for their caregivers."

The new program will also be studied by researchers at the University of Southern California, which will study patients who receive care from primary care physicians trained in hospice issues to patients receiving care from a coordinate hospice team.

"We know from national opinion polls that over 70% of Americans want to receive care at home in their last months of life, while only a third actually do so,” said Terry Hill, M.D., Hill's vice president of performance strategy. “When individuals understand what palliative care is, 97% say they would want to receive that kind of treatment.”