Literature Review

Bon Secours Mercy Health partners with private equity-owned provider[VA] VPM; by Adrienne Hoar McGibbon; 8/27/24There is a growing demand for hospice care in Virginia. 40,000 people received hospice care in the state in 2023, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The joint venture with Compassus plans for expanded hospice and home health care. Bon Secours Mercy Health’s home health and hospice care division is teaming up with national home health care provider Compassus as part of a newly minted partnership. The home health and hospice program will now be called Bon Secours Home Care and Hospice by Compassus... The merger will also impact BSMH locations in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio and South Carolina.

Hospice care standards are important. Congress must be careful tinkering with them. NorthJersey.com, Special to the USA TODAY Network; by Patrick Maron; 8/28/24... As hospice care grows, real attention needs to be paid to the differences between nonprofit and for-profit centers.  [A] staggering  73%  of hospice programs today are for-profit and are driven by financial motives, ... Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, is drafting legislation that, if enacted, would represent the most significant reforms to date for hospice payment and oversight. Though Blumenauer’s bill, the Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement — or Hospice CARE — Act, is still in development, key provisions will likely include a new payment mechanism for high-acuity palliative services, changes to the per-diem payment process and actions to improve quality and combat fraud. The bill would also implement a temporary, national moratorium on the enrollment of new hospices into Medicare, to help stem the tide of fraudulent activities ... However, there are significant challenges for nonprofit freestanding inpatient hospice facilities like Villa Marie Claire in Saddle River. Most important, the proposed five-year moratorium on enrolling new hospice programs into Medicare could limit our ability to expand services, straining resources of the Villa ... What’s more, the legislation mandates more frequent inspections and enhanced oversight, which could lead to operational stress and higher costs. [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

Year-over-year health spending growth highest ‘by far’ for home healthcare McKnights Senior Living; by Lois A. Bowers; 7/28/24 Year-over-year growth in national health spending in June was highest “by far” for home healthcare, at 20.9%, compared with other major healthcare categories, according to a brief issued late Tuesday by Altarum. Most of the growth, 18.5 percentage points, was due to changes in utilization rather than price, George Miller, PhD, Altarum fellow and research team leader, told the McKnight’s Business Daily. “Nursing home care spending was a distant second, at 10.0% year-over-year growth,” Miller said. By comparison, year-over-year spending growth was 8.3% for prescription drugs, 8.2% for hospital care, 7.3% for dental services and 6.6% for physician and clinical services, according to the report. Overall, spending on healthcare goods and services grew by 8.1% between June 2023 and June 2024, with utilization growth continuing to outpace price growth.

Rounds with Leadership: Focusing on the outcomes of NP practice American Association of Colleges of Nursing - The Voice of Academic Nursing; by American Colleges of Nursing (AACN); 8/28/24 ... In a synopsis of more than 50 research studies, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners found that patients under the care of NPs have fewer unnecessary hospital readmissions, higher patient satisfaction scores, and fewer unnecessary emergency room visits than patients under the care of physicians only. Recent studies have shown that ... NPs engaging in end-of-life care had fewer hospitalizations and higher hospice use; ... Despite such compelling evidence, challenges to NP education and practice continue. More than 20 states have yet to grant full scope of practice authority to NPs, denying these expert clinicians the opportunity to exercise the full range of their clinical expertise.

$83M fraud case against nursing home group may proceed, with no defendants excusedMcKnight's Long-Term Care News; by Jessica R. Towhey; 8/27/24A New York Supreme Court judge threw out all arguments from lawyers for an embattled group of nursing homes that sought to have charges dismissed in a case accusing the owners and operators of $83 million in Medicare and Medicaid fraud. Judge Melissa Crane ruled that the owners of Centers Health Care, along with numerous other individuals, did not make sufficient arguments for dropping charges of fraud, “saddling” nursing homes with “excessive debts,” colluding to pay “sham vendors,” and paying themselves “inflated” salaries.

Awards and Recognitions: August 2024 We congratulate these honorees and celebrate their contributions to our collective hospice and palliative care mission, vision, and compassionate care throughout our world. Do you know any of these leaders? We encourage you to forward this to them or to find another way to celebrate their success. (We are piloting this as a monthly feature in Hospice & Palliative Care Today.)

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Hospice patient publishes first poetry book BBC News, Derby, United Kingdom; by Jude Winter; 8/26/24 A woman receiving end-of-life care has fulfilled an ambition by publishing a book of poems. Sarah Colina started writing the poems more than 40 years ago but never got round to getting her work published despite encouragement from friends and family. The 60-year-old has been receiving care at Ashgate Hospice since being admitted to its Inpatient Unit in Old Brampton, Chesterfield. ... he added staff at the hospice had been "so supportive" and is selling 50 of her books to raise money to support their work. "I’m hoping it will be nicely received and people will enjoy reading my poems", said Ms Colina. She added: "Some of the poems are very dark, but some make you laugh. "I'm hoping it gives people an insight into their inner person." 

How 3 health systems decide when to buy or build AIModern Healthcare; by Gabriel Perna; 8/27/24As health systems invest in artificial intelligence, executives are deciding when they should buy a vendor's AI product and when they should build their own models... “AI requires more of a data science experience, which is very expensive in the market,” Pupo said. “It also requires a lot of actual data and many hospitals do not have that or are able to afford access to large amounts of data.” Here is how three health systems are weighing their options.

Unity Hospice expands service into Outagamie and Winnebago counties Seehafernews.com; by Ryan Brahm; 8/27/24 De Pere-based healthcare provider is expanding its service into two nearby counties. Unity Hospice recently announced that they would begin providing services in Outagamie and Winnebago Counties beginning September 1st. The expanded territory enables Unity to support patients and families wherever they call home, including private residences, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities.Unity Executive Director Alisa Gerke said of the expansion, “We’re excited to expand our footprint to enhance the quality of life for more patients and families. Our experienced, local care team knows the community well and is aligned with area pharmacies and agencies to ensure outstanding, prompt, and dignified care.”

[UK] Couple marry at hospice hours before husband diesBBC; by Chris Craddock; 8/24/24A couple were married in Jersey Hospice’s garden hours before the husband died. David and Alison Bothwell had a ceremony on 15 August with family, friends and staff in attendance. Mrs. Bothwell said it was "absolutely wonderful" and the "perfect ending for his life". She has praised hospice staff for organising the wedding on just a few hours' notice after Mr. Bothwell proposed towards the end of his life.

CareXM and Enhabit increase clinician capacity by 250% using virtual visits amid staffing shortages GlobeNewswire; by CareXM; 8/27/24 CareXM ... is proud to announce  some of the exciting results with Enhabit in their quick connect Virtual Visits platform. ... “We saw an increase in clinician capacity, allowing us to do more with less,” says Vice President of Care Management Shelley Baker of Enhabit, which provides care annually to 228,000 patients. “Completing visits virtually, when appropriate, has freed up our clinicians to better manage their schedules so they can be with patients who need hands-on care.” "While virtual visits do not replace the need for in-home visits, they do offer the ability to connect with patients more frequently, supplementing the visits that do need to be in-person,” said Si Luo, CEO at CareXM, “We see a growing need not just for visit utilization but for visit prioritization- let’s save our field nurses for those visits that truly do need to be in-person. ..."

The DEI Dilemma: Separate teams or embedded methods? Clinical Leader; by Denise N. Bronner, PhD; 8/28/24 In recent years, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has become a focal point in many industries, with the pharma sector being no exception. As political forces shift the societal climate to be increasingly DEI-averse, pharma sponsors face critical decisions regarding the implementation of DEI initiatives: Should DEI efforts be managed by a separate, dedicated DEI team or woven into the fabric of existing processes and departments? To answer that question, we must examine the advantages and drawbacks of both strategies, focusing on key factors like resource allocation, implementation efficiency, cultural integration, and the long-term impact on trial inclusivity. ... Integrating DEI into all aspects of a business is a complex task that requires careful planning and coordination. Without a clear strategy, efforts can become fragmented and ineffective.Editor's Note: While this DEI discussion is written to the pharma industry, its DEI structures, strategies and outcomes apply to hospice and palliative care services.