Literature Review

Jimmy Carter's hospice care shines light on the vital role of end-of-life services in GeorgiaBNN, by Dil Bar Irshad; 2/19/24As news emerged that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter had entered hospice care at his home in Georgia, the spotlight turned not only to the respected statesman's final chapter but also to the broader narrative of hospice care in America. This development underscores the critical importance of raising awareness about holistic end-of-life services, a mission that hospices around the nation, such as the esteemed Shakespeare Hospice, have been championing for decades.

What are death doulas?SwiftTelecast, by Shawn Butlere; 2/21/24... That’s why some people turn to end-of-life doulas. They are among the professionals who can help someone prepare for their death and reflect on their life: their greatest joys and regrets, any fears or worries on their mind, and how they want to be remembered. ... Unlike hospice, the cost of a doula is not covered by Medicare. ... Doulas may charge an hourly rate, from $45 to $100, or on a sliding scale. Or you may be quoted a flat fee from $500 to $5,000. 

AI-generated clinical summaries require more than accuracyJAMA Network; by Katherine E. Goodman, JD, PhD; Paul H. Yi, MD; and Daniel J. Morgan, MD, MS; Originally published 1/29/24, redistributed 2/20/24 ... Currently, there are no comprehensive standards for LLM-generated [Large Language Model] clinical summaries beyond the general recognition that summaries should be consistently accurate and concise. Yet there are many ways to accurately summarize clinical information. Variations in summary length, organization, and tone could all nudge clinician interpretations and subsequent decisions either intentionally or unintentionally. To illustrate these challenges concretely, we prompted ChatGPT-4 to summarize a small sample of deidentified clinical documents. [Click on the title's link to view the example.]

'This innovation was a home run!': Top tech projects for 8 systemsBecker's Health IT, by Laura Dyrda; 2/19/24C-suite executives are taking a critical eye to any technology spend, focusing on applications and partnerships that will support the clinical workforce, automate administrative tasks and expand access to care through virtual platforms. They're also looking upstream at opportunities to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to gather better insights into operational efficiency and patient care. Which investments yielded the best results in the last year? Eight health system leaders shared with Becker's the most needle-moving projects and initiatives from 2023.

7 hospitals seeking CEOs Becker's Hospital CEOs, by Kelly Gooch; 2/19/24Here are seven hospitals and health systems that recently posted job listings seeking CEOs. [Click on the title's link.]

Vanderbilt latest system to adopt patient code of conductBecker's Hospital Review, by Ashleigh Hollowell, 2/16/24Nashville, TN-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center is the latest system to adopt a patient code of conduct amid a national increase of violence against healthcare workers, the system announced Feb. 16. According to a Feb. 5 report from National Nurses United, 81.6% of nurses reported that they have experienced workplace violence, with half also noting they have seen instances of violence increase in the last year.Editor's Note: Applying this hospice inpatient units and residential facilities, ask your staff. Examine data from Incident Reports. Yes, incidents from family members and friends can easily erupt of escalated conflicts and potential violence. What Policies and Procedures, safety trainings, security measures, and emergency resources do you have in place? When did you last assess new gaps? Does Vanderbilt's system offer insights for your hospice?

Barriers and facilitators to end-of-life care delivery in ICUs: A qualitative studyCrit Care Med; by Lauren M Janczewski, Adithya Chandrasekaran, Egide Abahuje, Bona Ko, John D Slocum, Kaithlyn Tesorero, My L T Nguyen, Sohae Yang, Erin A Strong, Kunjan Bhakta, Jeffrey P Huml, Jacqueline M Kruser, Julie K Johnson, Anne M Stey; 2/19/24Objectives: To understand frontline ICU clinician's perceptions of end-of-life care delivery in the ICU.Setting: Seven ICUs across three hospitals in an integrated academic health system.Subjects: ICU clinicians (physicians [critical care, palliative care], advanced practice providers, nurses, social workers, chaplains).Conclusions: Standardized work system communication tasks may improve end-of life discussion processes between clinicians and families.

Rural-urban disparities and trends in utilization of palliative care services among US patients with metastatic breast cancerJ Rural Health; by Jincong Q Freeman, Adam W Scott, and Ted O Akhiwu; 2/20/24Purpose: To assess trends and rural-urban disparities in palliative care utilization among patients with metastatic breast cancer.Conclusions: In this national, racially diverse sample of patients with metastatic breast cancer, the utilization of palliative care services increased over time, though remained suboptimal. Further, our findings highlight rural-urban disparities in palliative care use and suggest the potential need to promote these services while addressing geographic access inequities for this patient population.

How CMS’ rule could tighten accrediting organization oversightModern Healthcare, by Mari Devereaux; 2/20/24Accrediting organizations may have to reduce their fee-based consultation services and prohibit survey participation for employees with ties to health facilities or face penalties for violating conflict-of-interest provisions if the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sticks with recent oversight proposals.Editor's Note: Full access to this article requires a subscription.

Doctor convicted of $2.8M hospice Medicare fraud schemeHomeCare; 2/20/24A federal jury convicted a California man for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare by billing $2.8 million for hospice services that patients did not need. From October 2014 to March 2016, [John] Thropay fraudulently certified Medicare patients ... as having terminal illnesses that the patients did not have ... [in order to] bill Medicare for hospice services. In 2015, Thropay was listed as an attending provider for more hospice claims paid by Medicare than any other provider in the nation.

C-suite roles that lead to 'CEO'Becker's Hospital Review, by Alexis Kayser; 2/19/24Health systems have varying priorities when choosing to promote a CEO from within, from clinical or financial experience to tenure length. Some roles, like the chief operating officer, have historically been considered natural seconds-in-line. But presidents, CFOs, chief medical officers and chief nursing officers might also find themselves in the top seat when a CEO retires or resigns.