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Context Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) provides clinical benefits to hospice patients, including decreased pain and improved quality of life. Yet little is known about the extent to which U.S. hospices employ CAM therapists. Objectives To report the most recent national data regarding the inclusion of art, massage, and music therapists on hospice interdisciplinary teams and how CAM therapist staffing varies by hospice characteristics. Methods A national cross-sectional survey of a random sample of hospices (n=591; 84% response rate) from September 2008 to November 2009. Results Twenty-nine percent of hospices (169 of 591) reported employing an art, massage, or music therapist. Of those hospices, 74% employed a massage therapist, 53% a music therapist, and 22% an art therapist, and 42% expected the therapist to attend interdisciplinary staff meetings, indicating a significant role for these therapists on the patient’s care team. In adjusted analyses, larger hospices compared with smaller hospices had significantly higher odds of employing a CAM therapist (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 6.38, 95% CI 3.40, 11.99) and forprofit hospices had lower odds of employing a CAM therapist compared with nonprofit hospices (AOR = 0.52, 95% CI 0.32, 0.85). Forty-four percent of hospices in the Mountain/Pacific region reported employing a CAM therapist versus 17% in the South Central region. Conclusion Less than one-third of U.S. hospices employ art, massage, or music therapists despite the benefits these services may provide to patients and families. A higher proportion of large hospices, nonprofit hospices and hospices in the Mountain/Pacific region employ CAM therapists, indicating differential access to these important services.

National efforts to reduce rehospitalizations may result in improved integration of hospice and palliative care for patients who are at risk of readmission.