Literature Review

Resurgia Health Solutions and Ennoble Care's Georgia Housecalls Practice finalize combination to strengthen healthcare access in Georgia KSN.com News - Cision PR Newswire; by PR Newswire; 5/20/24 Resurgia Health Solutions and Ennoble Care have united to strengthen healthcare access in Georgia. ... Under the regional leadership of Kevin Charles and Dr. Mark Bradshaw, Ennoble's Georgia home-based primary care practice will be integrated into Resurgia's regional operations and Ennoble's national operations. Renee Brack, FNP, will work closely with Mr. Charles and Dr. Bradshaw in Georgia, as the operational leader of palliative and hospice care in Georgia, ensuring continuity. ... "We are thrilled to combine our strong programs to expand home-based primary and palliative care access in Georgia." said Molly Viscardi, PhD, RN, Chief Operating Officer of Ennoble Care. 

Cooling down the clinic: How to de-escalate angry patients and family members Oncology Nurse Advisor; by Kathleen Wolf, MBA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC; 5/17/24Handling challenging interactions with patients and families can be a source of stress for oncology nurses. Patients and caregivers could be feeling angry for any number of reasons. The key is to not take their anger personally. It’s more productive to instead understand the cause of their anger. [Read more for common causes and basic de-escalation strategies.]

Telehealth is far from dead, says Providence’s Virtual Care ChiefMedCity News; by Katie Adams; 5/15/24This year has been a messy one for virtual care companies, but that doesn’t mean that telehealth is dead, according to Eve Cunningham, Providence’s chief of virtual care and digital health. In her view, virtual care can definitely still be an important part of the care delivery model — but only if it is embedded into the greater healthcare delivery ecosystem. This year hasn’t been a great one for virtual care companies. Optum shuttered its virtual care unit in April, Walmart closed its virtual care offering (as well as its entire healthcare unit) in May, and two of the country’s largest telehealth providers - Teladoc Health and Amwell - have both enacted major rounds of layoffs this year. But this doesn’t mean telehealth is dead, said Eve Cunningham, chief of virtual care and digital health at Providence, during a Tuesday interview at the Reuters Digital Health conference in San Diego.

Continuing a 35-Year History, AHRQ Pursues Vital Pathways to Improve Patient CareAHRQ News; by Robert Otto Valdez; 5/16/24The theme of our 35th anniversary celebration is “Today’s Research, Tomorrow’s Healthcare.” As I’ve told my colleagues, we must redouble our efforts to improve healthcare not only in 2024 but also in the decades ahead.  AHRQ fuels research and development in the healthcare industry. Now is the time to plant the seeds for healthcare systems to thrive today and in the future.Publisher's Note: Congratulations to AHRQ and your 35th anniversary! Thank you for the important contributions you've made to hospice, palliative care, and healthcare. We ran this story on 4/1/24, which was funded by AHRQ: Hospice providers serving assisted living residents: Association of higher volume with lower quality.

CVS could lose 10% of its Medicare Advantage members in 2025Becker's Payer Issues; by Rylee Wilson; 5/14/24CVS Health executives are bracing to lose up to 10% of Aetna's Medicare Advantage members next year, Bloomberg reported May 14. At an investor conference on May 14, CVS CFO Tom Cowhey said it's "entirely possible" the company loses a portion of its members in the coming year as it prioritizes profitability, according to Bloomberg. "That's OK because we need to get this business back on track," Mr. Cowhey said. Executives at CVS Health have said they will prioritize "margins over membership" in Medicare Advantage in the coming year.

The human side of AI: Insights on balancing automation and empathy Innovation & Tech Today; by Enrico Palmerino; 5/20/24 ... As AI automates more tasks with clinical precision, empathy is a critical human element we cannot overlook. That intangible ability to understand and share the feelings of another isn’t just a soft skill — it’s an essential catalyst for trust, loyalty, and genuine connection. Consider the healthcare industry, where empathy is (quite literally) often a matter of life and death. Can an AI-powered diagnostic system truly grasp a patient’s fear and vulnerability when facing a serious illness? ... Finding the delicate balance between leveraging AI automation and preserving human empathy is the new challenge before us. It’s a duality that will shape how businesses operate and how we interact with technology. ... Let the machines optimize processes while we optimize the ability to connect and inspire. In this harmonious future, AI is a tool that elevates us — not replaces us.Editor's Note: Is AI a hot topic among your leaders and interdisciplinary clinicians? Often, "empathy" and "communication" are cited as key cautions and conflicts. 

Nurses Don't Trust Employers to Safely Implement AI Tools, Survey ShowsMedPage Today; by Shannon Firth; 5/16/24Predictive models, chatbots may undermine clinical judgment and compromise patient care, they say. Three out of five nurses said they don't trust their employer to place patient safety as the most important factor when using artificial intelligence (AI) tools, according to a survey from National Nurses United (NNU), the largest union of RNs in the U.S.

Hospital-at-home grows despite regulatory uncertaintyModern Healthcare; by Diane Eastabrook; 5/17/24Health systems and technology companies are betting big on home-based hospital care, despite regulatory uncertainty about the program’s future. Hospitals are bullish on at-home acute care because it can save money and make more beds available in their facilities for sicker patients. Medicare also pays health systems the same rate as it would for an inpatient admission. Since January, two health systems and 16 hospitals launched hospital-at-home programs under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver, bringing the total number of programs to 336 across 37 states, according to the agency’s website. More programs are slated to launch this year as Congress considers whether to extend the waiver beyond its Dec. 31 expiration date. Hospital-at-home allows certain patients to receive acute-level care where they live through telehealth and in-person visits, supplemented with remote patient monitoring. The concept gained traction during the COVID-19 pandemic when CMS approved a waiver in 2020 to alleviate overcrowding in hospitals. Large health systems, including Mass General Brigham, Geisinger and the Cleveland Clinic have invested heavily in home-based acute care. Many smaller hospital systems are doing the same by leveraging in-home care technology.

Long-term care workers grapple with twice the ‘toxic stress’ as others, study showsMcKnight's Long-Term Care News; by Josh Henreckson; 5/14/24Nurses and nurse aides in long term care report rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) double that of the general population - results that should lead providers to more aggressively support and communicate with their workforce, authors of a new research study said Tuesday. The study suggests that providers should invest in mental health initiatives for their workers to address and prevent the effects of toxic stress. Nearly 60% of those surveyed had never sought mental health support for these traumatic experiences.

Cybersecurity execs share healthcare's biggest vulnerabilitiesModern Healthcare; by Brock E.W. Turner; 5/20/24A recent string of massive healthcare cybersecurity breaches has put data security leaders on edge. Recent incidents have shined a light on some of the most significant vulnerabilities at health systems. Here are four of the biggest, according to experts.

Have a heart – caregivers need care, tooAmerican Heart Association; 5/14/24Living with a chronic medical condition after surviving a heart attack or stroke may come with additional health and personal care needs. Often survivors must rely on a family member or close friend to help. However, there’s a growing body of scientific research that shows people who serve as unpaid caregivers may not be getting the care they need to live longer, healthier lives, according to the American Heart Association.

UnitedHealth Group's Optum to close Ohio location, lay off 129Modern Healthcare; by Lauren Berryman; 5/17/24UnitedHealth Group’s Optum will lay off 129 employees and close a Toledo, Ohio, facility, according to a notice filed with the state's job and family services department. The separations are expected to take place in three waves, from July 15 to September 6, and will affect employees in Ohio and remote locations, Optum said in the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice filed Thursday. The affected employees include senior software engineers, senior technology product managers, associate business systems analysts and associate business operations coordinators, the notice said.

Home-Based Care Investors Show Interest, But M&A Pace Remains CautiousHome Health Care News; by Andrew Donlan; 5/13/24Home-based care dealmakers have been busier of late, but that has not yet translated into more transactions. There’s some feeling that sidelined private equity firms will eventually have to enter the game, but that may not be the case.