NHPCO Standards of Practice for Hospice Programs (2010)

NHPCO’s revised Standards of Practice for Hospice Programs (2010) is a valuable way to set benchmarks for your hospice and assess the services you provide.  The Standards are organized around the ten components of quality in hospice care, which provide a framework for developing and implementing QAPI.  Specific standards and practice examples are included for each component and appendices also include standards for hospice inpatient facility; nursing facility hospice care; hospice residential care facility; and pediatric palliative care (new addition). For easy reference, a crosswalk between the 2006 Standards and 2010 Standards is provided. 

In addition, Standards of Practice for Hospice Programs (2010) have been compared with the Medicare Conditions of Participation (CoPs); The Joint Commission, CHAP and ACHC Standards/Guidelines; and the National Quality Forum Preferred Practices. A comprehensive crosswalk can be downloaded here.   

View and download NHPCO Standards of Practice for Hospice Programs (2010).  Navigational instructions of this user-friendly document are included.

• Purchase print and CD versions of NHPCO Standards of Practice for Hospice Programs (2010) at NHPCO’s Marketplace.  
• Access individual sections of NHPCO Standards of Practice for Hospice Programs (2010) below:  (Please note these documents are quite large (20+ pages) and will require a certain
  • Table of Contents
  • NHPCO’s Quality Program and Standards of Practice
  • NHPCO's Quality Partners
  • How to Use the Standards
  • Patient and Family-Centered Care (PFC)
  • Ethical Behavior and Consumer Rights (EBR)
  • Clinical Excellence and Safety (CES)
  • Inclusion and Access (IA)
  • Organizational Excellence (OE)
  • Workforce Excellence (WE)
  • Standards (S)
  • Compliance with Laws and Regulations (CLR)
  • Stewardship and Accountability (SA)
  • Performance Measurement (PM)
  • Appendix I - Hospice Inpatient Facility (HIF)
  • Appendix II - Nursing Facility Hospice Care (NF)
  • Appendix III – Hospice Residential Care Facility (HRCF)
  • Appendix IV – Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC)
  • Crosswalk: 2006 to 2010 Standards of Practice
  • Glossary
  • NHPCO Performance Measures
  • Acknowledgements

Help Desk If after reviewing the online resources you need additional assistance, contact quality@nhpco.org or the Quality Team at 703/837-1500.

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