Through focus groups with bereaved family
members, we identified three important aspects
of successful care delivery, namely clear
delegation of tasks and responsibilities, information
coordination between NH and hospice
staff, and hospice’s important role as an advocate
for the patient and family. The ultimate
goal of this study was to develop questions
for a new module of the FEHC survey, which
will serve as a performance measurement
tool to ensure quality care for the increasing
population of patients receiving hospice services
in the NH setting. Table 3 includes the
survey items resulting from analysis of the
focus groups; items will be tested in the validation
phase of this study.