Literature Review

CDC weekly US map: Influenza summary update U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - HHS.gov; retrieved from the internet 1/2/25, with most current data from 12/21/24 A Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report Prepared by the Influenza Division: Outpatient Respiratory Illness Activity Map Determined by Data Reported to ILINet. This system monitors visits for respiratory illness that includes fever plus a cough or sore throat, also referred to as ILI, not laboratory confirmed influenza and may capture patient visits due to other respiratory pathogens that cause similar symptoms. Editor's note: Click here for the map and bookmark it to regularly monitor your service areas through this flu season.

MA Special Needs Beneficiaries more likely to receive lower quality hospice care Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 1/2/25 Medicare Advantage special needs plan (SNP) beneficiaries were more likely to use lower-quality hospices than those enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia examined Medicare enrollment and claims data for 4.2 million decedents and 2.2 million hospice enrollees from Jan 1, 2018 to Dec. 31, 2019. Among other findings, results indicated that MA SNP beneficiaries were more likely to receive care from hospices with lower Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) scores. “These results suggest that policymakers should consider incentivizing referrals to high-quality hospices and approaches to educating beneficiaries on identifying high-quality hospice care,” researchers wrote in the study, published in JAMA Network Open. Editor's note: Click here for the CMS.gov Special Needs Plans webpage.

Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go. They merely determine where you start. ~ Nido Qubein

Johns Hopkins Medicine CEO: 'Bring the joy back to medicine'Becker's Hospital Review; by Kristin Kuchno; 12/19/24 One year after Theodore DeWeese, MD, assumed permanent leadership of Johns Hopkins Medicine, he remains focused on enhancing patient care and bringing care closer to home. ... Dr. DeWeese shared his strategies for 2025 with Becker's, in areas such as employee retention, capital investments and community partnerships. ... Dr. Theodore DeWeese: Health systems across the country are facing a workforce shortage that will likely get worse over the next decade. ... Given the shortage, part of our approach to retention is focusing on the culture of our organization and investing in the well-being of our employees and career development of the provider workforce. We are working to bring the joy back to medicine by creating a culture where everyone can thrive, whether it's by easing the administrative burden that clinicians face or offering greater flexibility for front-line workers. ...

[TCN] Year in Review for 2024 and One Word Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux; 1/1/25 In this podcast episode, host Chris Comeaux does a recap of the top podcasts of 2024.  First for TCNtalks with amazing guests like New York Times best-selling author John Burke, Peter Benjamin, Dr. Ira Byock, and Judi Lund Person. Chris then does a recap from our first year of our new podcast, Anatomy of Leadership, with great guests such as Quint Studer, Meridith Elliott Powell, John Locke, and Brian Jaudon. Additionally, Chris introduces the intriguing concept of the "One Word," which serves as a thematic or guiding principle for the upcoming year. This is a great piece of wisdom Teleios and many of its members practice every year. 

UnitedHealthcare taught us ways to deny claims: Former employee NBC News Channel 8, Tampa, FL; by Damita Menezes; 12/30/24A former UnitedHealthcare claims representative says employees were systematically trained to deny medical claims and rush distressed customers off phone lines, revealing internal practices at the nation’s largest health insurer amid growing scrutiny of the industry. Natalie Collins, who worked for UnitedHealthcare for nine months, said Saturday on “NewsNation Prime” that staff received “so many different ways to deny” claims during their two to three months of training, with supervisors often standing behind representatives instructing them on denial methods. “We weren’t given proper instruction to actually pay the claim, and there wasn’t enough monies in certain files in certain companies to pay medical claims,” Collins said. “We would have to just get the client off the phone as fast as we could.” Collins described crying at her desk while handling calls from desperate patients, as supervisors laughed.

Human composting is rising in popularity as an earth-friendly life after death CNN; by Ella Nilsen; 12/29/24 The first time Laura Muckenhoupt felt a glimmer of hope after the death of her 22-year-old son Miles was the drive home from the Washington state facility that had turned his body into hundreds of pounds of soil. There was an empty seat in the family pickup truck where Miles should have been sitting. But riding with her husband and daughter on the 12-hour drive home, Laura felt her son’s presence clearly. ... Human composting turns bodies into soil by speeding up “what happens on the forest floor,” according to Tom Harries, CEO of Earth Funeral, the human composting company the Muckenhoupt family worked with. “What we’re doing is accelerating a completely natural process,” Harris told CNN. Human composting is emerging as an end-of-life alternative that is friendlier to the climate and the Earth — it is far less carbon-intensive than cremation and doesn’t use chemicals involved to preserve bodies in traditional burials.

In Memoriam: Jimmy Carter helped build the hospice community Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 12/30/24 ... During his tenure as president, Carter was essential to the establishment of the Medicare Hospice Benefit. His administration launched the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ demonstration project to test the model, leading to passage of a law establishing the benefit during the subsequent Reagan presidency. Prior to these efforts, hospice care was delivered predominantly by volunteers who relied on philanthropy to operate. The scale of these early providers was very limited due to lack of payment, as was access to their services. “For decades, the Carter family has championed open dialogue about the needs of patients at the end of life,” Dr. Vicki Jackson, board president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), told Hospice News in an email. “Their vocal support for hospice care over the past year has made an immeasurable impact and brought information about this essential subspeciality of medical care to a national audience.”

AMA’s first chief health equity officer to depart at year’s end American Medical Association (AMA); by Staff News Writer; 12/30/24 Under Dr. Aletha Maybank’s direction and guidance, the AMA has become a relevant national voice on equity in medicine and an important ally to organizations that have long been committed to this work. ... [She] will depart the organization at the end of 2024 following a successful five-year and a half year tenure ... “Dr. Maybank has been a true champion and advocate for health equity both inside the AMA and in shaping our health system. She created a strong, strategic foundation for this work to continue over the long term,” AMA Executive Vice President and CEO James L. Madara, MD, said. ... During Dr. Maybank’s tenure, the AMA has provided a platform for the organization to engage in more open and honest conversations about its own past failings and exclusionary practices that have contributed to some of the inequities that persist in medicine today and has expanded education opportunities for physicians, residents and students in numerous ways, including: [Click on the title's link to read more.]

[Wales] Inside a children's hospice, a life-affirming and laughter-filled place that offers so much WalesOnline; by Taite Johnson; 12/29/24 When most people think of a children's hospice they often expect it to be a sombre place filled with sadness. But after spending some time at Ty Hafan I found it's actually quite the opposite. Laughter fills the halls as families make everlasting memories for themselves – and potentially the last for their child. Ty Hafan's hospice, overlooking the serene view of the sea in Sully in the Vale of Glamorgan, has been providing essential end-of-life care for children in a safe space in Wales for 25 years. It is often described at a place you wish you didn't need but you are glad to have.

Preliminary research suggests that grief after the death of a public figure looks very similar to grief over our personal relationships and can have comparable levels of intensity News Wise; by Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center; 12/29/24 Many people are surprised by the intensity of their response when a well-known person dies, and their feelings of sadness may last longer than they expect. In fact, that sadness and grief can be intense, and preliminary research suggests that grief after the death of a public figure looks very similar to grief over our personal relationships and can have comparable levels of intensity. Wendy Lichtenthal, Ph.D., a bereavement science researcher and founding director of the Center for the Advancement of Bereavement Care at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, is available to discuss “parasocial grief” – that which occurs when a celebrity, political figure or other highly recognized person dies.

To build a strong leadership team, invest in the middle Forbes; by Marissa Morrison; 12/26/24 An organization’s success is determined by the strength of its people—most notably, its mid-level talent. These leaders are mediators, connectors, drivers and collaborators. They communicate feedback, motivate junior staff, hold teams accountable and execute company goals. They also play a crucial role in shaping culture. With all these responsibilities, it’s clear why organizations need trusted mid-level talent. However, these employees often lack the developmental support they need. ... 5 Ways Organizations Can Support Middle Managers: ...