The Department of Health initiated its Evaluative Study of Hospice Programs in April, 1979, with the establishment of a Hospice Advisory Committee. This Advisory Committee is composed of representatives from Certificate of Need approved providers of Hospice programs, third-party payers, local health planning agencies, the Virginia Health Care Association and the Virginia Medical Assistance Program, the Bureau of Medical Facilities Services and the Division of Health Planning and Resources Development of the Virginia Department of Health. (Please refer to Appendix A for a complete listing of the members of the Hospice Advisory Committee.)

The Committee charge is as follows: to formulate recommendations to the 1981 General Assembly of Virginia relating to appropriate standards for quality Hospice programs, the appropriate mechanism for monitoring the quality of Hospice programs, and the necessity of specific reimbursement for both the home and in-patient components of Hospice programs. Initially, the Hospice Advisory Committee identified three major priorities needing committee attention: (1) the development of a, working definition of Hospice, including a definition of related terms; (2) the establishment of a data system including the data elements which should be collected from existing Hospice programs; and (3) a recommendation regarding the appropriate mechanism for monitoring the quality of Hospice programs.

The Hospice Advisory Committee has met at least monthly since May, 1979. For information and background purposes, the Committee has performed a review of available literature and studies being conducted in other states across the country as well as extensive discussion of the priority issues. The Department of Health is confident that the efforts of this committee provide the necessary basis upon which final recommendations may be made to the Governor and to the 1981 General Assembly regarding the orderly development of quality Hospice Programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia.