provide no additional information which will alter treatment or outcome and are therefore expensive, wasteful and time consuming.
4 A home care program can provide palliative care for more patients than is possible in an inpatient hospice. Many hospice programs consider that the home care service is the most important aspect of their work because greater coverage is possible given the resources available. Last year (1996) in Singapore, the Hospice Care Association, which has a home care program, cared for 1380 patients. On the other hand, Dover Park Hospice, a 40 bed inpatient hospice cared for only 323 patients during this twelve month period. And yet the annual operating budget for this inpatient hospice is twice as much as for this home care service. This means that with a home care service nine times as many patients can receive palliative care for the same outlay of funds.
5 Finally, and most importantly, home care provides continuity of care. The patient and family are reassured that they are not abandoned because the disease has not been cured. They do not feel that they represent medical failure. They are comforted by the compassion and persistence of the team members who are concerned about all the things which are troubling the patient and the family. This is patient centred care.
