Third Research Forum of the European Association for Palliatieve Care Stresa Lago Maggiore (Italy) 4-6 June 2004 Hospice care at home - evaluation of a 18 months pilot study Christine Waerenburgh, A. Mullie, L. Ceulemans, K. Claessens, P. Cornil, C. Munnichs, H. Moerman, J. Van den Eynde, E. Leys, T. van Iersel, J. Menten Research Workgroup of the Federation for Palliative Care Flanders, Belgium. Hospice care at home promotes possibilities for patients to stay at home in a comfortable way. With the assistance of general practitioners and medical specialists eight palliative home care teams supported 700 patients at home even when highly technical interventions were required. Type of technical interventions, involvement of patients own care takers, complications and place of death were registered. Most of the 1383 technical interventions appeared to be related to complex continuous pain control (subcutaneous, intravenous, intrathecal; 80%). Other interventions like acites puncture, blood transfusion, intravenous application of medication were connected with symptom control and providing comfort. 8% of the interventions gave problems of which 63% could have been evaded had more professional care or material been available, 37% of the problems seemed to be inevitable due to pathology characteristics and, or lack of family support. 97% of the patients with hospice care at home stayed and died at home, only 3% were hospitalised. It is thus concluded that hospice care at home keeps most patients out of hospital when professional and technically well-trained home care teams are available and can be depend upon 24 hours a day.