January 23, 2023

Ep. 387 How to Save Hospice with Ira Byock MD

58 minutes

Learn about some positive steps that are needed to heal the current hospice industry in the U.S. and how your story can make a difference.

My guest Dr. Ira Byock is a leading palliative care physician, author and public advocate for improving care through the end of life. He is the author of Dying Well, The Four Things That Matter Most, and The Best Care Possible. We discuss his recent essay pinion piece published in STAT online: “Hospice Care Needs Saving,” which is a response to the November Propublica/New Yorker article How the Visionary Hospice Movement Became a For-Profit Hustle. Learn more at his website:

www.irabyock.org

Read the STAT article

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

Our reactions to the Propublica article

What the article got right about today’s hospice and why we need to take it seriously

What the hospice movement needs to work on to improve care for patients and rebuild trust with the public

Why internal “self-correction” is more important now for the hospice industry than expecting Congress to make changes

Why over-focus on profit is dangerous for the hospice movement

Why transparency, strengthened oversight, and legal accountability are important steps for saving hospice

How stories about current hospice care can be helpful as we move forward

Links mentioned in this episode:

Previous interview with Dr. Byock

Get in touch with Dr. Byock to share your hospice story: [email protected]

Leave me a message by email: [email protected], Twitter, Facebook or Instagram

Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul

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