Literature Review

Bill to legalize medical aid in dying for eligible, terminally ill Virginians passes state SenateABC 8 News WRIC - Capital Connection, by Ryan Nadeau; updated 2/11/24A bill that would allow eligible terminally ill patients in Virginia the option of medically-assisted death, or “medical aid in dying,” has passed the state Senate along a narrow margin. ... SB 280 would “[allow] an adult diagnosed with a terminal condition to request and an attending health care provider to prescribe a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending the patient’s life,” according to its text.

Cigna doubles down on growing Evernorth Health ServicesModern Healthcare, by Lauren Berryman; 2/2/24Two days after announcing it would sell its Medicare business, Cigna Group outlined plans to double down on growth opportunities for its Evernorth Health Services unit... It also expects to benefit from the continued growth of Medicare Advantage, despite its pending exit, by offering pharmacy benefits to these plans... Evernorth provides pharmacy, care delivery and benefits solutions to health plans, employers, government entities and providers. It also houses its Express Scripts pharmacy benefit manager, which is one of the top three largest pharmacy benefit managers by market share.

Will home care’s wage violations spark closures—or more workers?Modern Healthcare, by Diane Eastabrook; 2/5/24Home care providers are split on whether the Labor Department’s fines against the industry for wage violations could force more business closures or attract more workers to the high-demand sector. As more care moved into the home during the COVID-19 pandemic, the department’s Wage and Hour Division targeted home care and home health providers in 2021 for overtime infractions, worker misclassification and other violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

How the funeral industry got the FTC to hide bad actorsWall Street Journal, by Dominique Mosbergen; 2/5/24Mortuaries that violate fair-practices rules are allowed to take a remedial training program that shields their names from public scrutiny; WSJ investigation reveals more than 500 homes. Unethical funeral homes have exploited grieving customers for decades. What consumers don’t know is that many of the industry’s bad actors have been hidden from the public thanks to a sweetheart deal struck between the Federal Trade Commission and the funeral industry more than 25 years ago.

End-of-life: The one decision AI cannot predictForbes, by Dr. Tal Patalon, MD, LLB, MBA; 2/10/24We often talk about personalized medicine; we hardly ever talk about personalized death. ... When training an algorithm, data scientists usually need a “ground truth” to base their algorithm on, often an objective unequivocal metric. ... However, with end-of-life decisions, such as do-not-attempt-resuscitation (as pointedly exemplified in the New England Journal of Medicine), what is the objective truth against which we train or measure the performance of the algorithm?

The most common cancers for men and women in 2024Becker's Hospital Review, by Mariah Taylor; 2/5/24Of all cancer cases in men in 2024, 48% are predicted to be prostate, lung and colon and rectum and 51% of all new cases in women are expected to be from breast, lung and colon and rectum cancers, researchers from the American Cancer Society found.

'Be a game-changer': Insights on leadership for Black History MonthBecker's Hospital Review, by Kelly Gooch; 2/8/24In honor of Black History Month in February, Becker's Hospital Review asked what it means to be a Black leader in healthcare. Here, Black healthcare leaders share how their heritage and culture infuses their leadership philosophies and adds purpose to their roles.

Nursing home system faces foreclosure amid $51M in unpaid debtBecker's Hospital Review, by Mariah Taylor; 2/6/24A Peoria, IL based nursing home and assisted living company has entered foreclosure proceedings after lenders alleged it owes $51 million in unpaid debts, the Peoria Journal Star reported Feb. 5. Petersen Health Care, which owns 17 facilities, entered the foreclosure agreement with X-Caliber Funding and Capital Funding in two separate federal cases in January. Petersen alleges it was the victim of a ransomware attack in fall 2023 that took down its billing system at several facilities and "crippled" its finances.

Healthcare data breaches set record in 2023Becker's Health IT, by Giles Bruce; 2/7/24Healthcare data breaches hit an all-time high in 2023 as cybersecurity concerns continue to plague the industry, HIPAA Journal reported. More than 133 million patient records were breached last year, more than double the number in 2022 (51.9 million), according to the publication's analysis of HHS data.

Big Bend Hospice Inpatient Unit opens at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, increases access to quality end-of-life careBusiness Wire; 2/8/24Big Bend Hospice, in partnership with Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH), proudly announces the opening of the First Commerce Center for Compassionate Care (FCCCC), a new inpatient hospice unit on the third floor of Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

4 recent advancements in Alzheimer's disease careBecker's Hospital Review, by Ashleigh Hollowell; 2/6/24Alzheimer's disease research in the last year has expanded, promising clinicians in the field and patients experiencing the condition more accurate detection tests, new treatment possibilities and research to fuel further advancements in care. ... For four of the most recent updates in care and detention, [click on the title's link, above].

CMS proposes to increase accrediting organization oversightModern Healthcare, by Mari Devereaux; 2/9/24The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed Thursday to crack down on accrediting organizations following concerns of biased, inconsistent survey results and conflicts of interest. The proposed rule would strengthen CMS’ oversight of accrediting bodies and mandate the organizations reduce conflicts of interest with healthcare facilities, including by limiting fee-based consulting services. The proposal also would standardize accrediting organizations' survey processes.