The federal government under the auspices of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has unveiled a website and database that allows consumers to compare hospices.

Hospice facilities offer specialized care and support to individuals with a terminal illness and a prognosis of six months or less if the illness runs its normal course. Once a patient elects hospice care, the focus shifts from curative treatment to palliative care for relief of pain and symptom management, and care is generally provided where the patient lives. Additionally, caregivers can get support through the hospice benefit, such as grief and loss counseling.

The government’s new Hospice Compare website helps patients and caregivers find hospice providers in their area and compare them on quality of care metrics, says Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Seema Verma.

The Hospice Compare site allows patients, family members, caregivers, and healthcare providers to compare hospice providers based on such quality metrics as the percentage of patients that are screened for pain or difficult or uncomfortable breathing, or whether patients’ preferences are being met. Currently, the data on Hospice Compare is based on information submitted by approximately 3,876 hospices.

“The website is an important tool to make important decisions about hospice care for loved ones,” Verma says. “The CMS Hospice Compare website is a reliable resource for family members and care givers who are looking for facilities that will provide quality care.”

The website database pulls from quarterly data on patient care and satisfaction reports hospices must file with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Hospice Compare website lets users search for facilities by hospice name or by city, state and ZIP code. Individual search results deliver hospices in alphabetical order, along with the type of ownership, the phone number and the latest date the location was certified.

Individual results give hospices a score of 1-100 for areas such as discussion of treatment preferences and patient beliefs and values, and managing pain and treating symptoms. Users can put together and archive lists of favorite facilities and comparable facilities, read content on how to find and evaluate a hospice, download the full database or file a complaint.

The Hospice Compare website joins a long list other comparison databases built and maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Other websites include Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Compare; Long-Term Care Hospital Compare; Hospital Compare; Physician Compare; Nursing Home Compare; Medicare Plan Finder; Dialysis Compare; and Home Health Compare.