Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
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The Pilot Project on Per-diem Payment for Inpatient Hospice Services of Taiwan's National Health Insurance Program was begun in July 2000. The project monitors hospices to control for a median length of stay (LOS) of not longer than 16 days to prevent inappropriate stasis in hospices. To determine the best utilization of palliative care, patients remaining in the hospice for more than 28 days were analyzed to discover their characteristics and reasons for not being discharged. ⋯ Better understanding of the factors related to LOS can help staff in the palliative ward of medical centers to identify patients who are apt to have long stay, and shorten their LOS by successfully dealing with their problems.