Literature Review

Trump freezes HHS communications: report Modern Healthcare Alert; by Bridget Early; 1/22/25 The Health and Human Services Department and its agencies are going silent for now, according to the Washington Post. On Tuesday, the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration, HHS received an order to halt all outbound communications, including health advisories, weekly reports, research, website updates and social media posts, the newspaper reported. The Washington Post reports that the pause has no definitive end date and that the decree does not specify whether exceptions will be made for disease outbreaks or other urgent situations. The directive applies to agencies such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

North Augusta hospice nurse arrested after allegedly using fake prescriptions Aiken Standard, Aiken, SC; by Matthew Christian; 1/22/25 A North Augusta hospice nurse has been arrested after allegedly acquiring prescription drugs with fake prescriptions. South Carolina Bureau of Drug Control agents arrested Amy Elizabeth Strand, 44, on Jan. 17, according to an Aiken County Sheriff's Office booking report. Strand obtained lorazepam 2 mg tablets from the North Augusta Kroger on June 22, 2024, Agent B.A. Stafford said in a warrant. ... To get the pills, Strand called in a fake prescription in the name of a patient under her care, Stafford continued. ... Strand has been charged with three counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud. 

More AI, GUIDE implementation, market recovery in the cards for LTC providers this year: experts McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Zee Johnson; 1/22/25 Implementation and expansion of artificial intelligence may be the most powerful trend facing long-term care providers in 2025, according to a panel of experts who identified seven key topics providers should be aware of this year. ... An HDG whitepaper [Health Dimensions Group] found that 2025 will bring more progress in the areas of predictive analytics, or using data to predict falls; hospitalizations and other significant medical events; improved care integration; and generative AI. [Key areas described include:]

DEA unveils long-overdue special registration for telemedicine in proposed ruleThe National Law Review; by Marika Miller, Nathan A. Beaver of Foley & Lardner LLP; 1/21/25 In the final days of the Biden administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released a proposed rule that would allow practitioners with a Special Registration to prescribe Schedule III-V, and in limited circumstances Schedule II, controlled substances via telemedicine. Practitioners with a Special Registration would still need to obtain a DEA registration in each state where they prescribe or dispense controlled substances. However, the proposed rule establishes a limited, less expensive State Telemedicine Registration as an alternative to the traditional DEA registration. The proposed rule imposes several obligations on practitioners with Special Registrations when they prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine.  [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

Respiratory virus activity remains 'high' in US and will 'continue for several more weeks': CDC ABC News; by Mary Kekatos and Youri Benadjaoud; 1/20/25 Respiratory viruses are continuing to spread across the United States, sickening millions of Americans. Overall respiratory illness activity -- including flu, COVID-19 and RSV -- continues to be listed as "high" nationwide and is causing people to seek health care "at a high level," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Jan. 17, two states -- Hawaii and New Hampshire -- are listed as having "very high" activity while another 15 states are listed as having "high" activity, CDC data shows. 

Justice Department sues Walgreens over alleged part in opioid crisis Becker's Hospital Review; by Madeline Ashley; 1/17/25 The Justice Department on Jan. 16 filed a civil complaint against Walgreens Boots Alliance and its subsidiaries alleging unlawful dispensation of millions of prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, also alleges that Walgreens sought reimbursements from federal health programs in violation of the False Claims Act, according to a Jan. 17 news release. The Justice Department alleges that Walgreens knowingly filled millions of invalid controlled substance prescriptions since August 2012, including excessive opioid quantities, early refills and a "dangerous and abused combination of drugs" ... The complaint suggests pharmacists at Walgreens filled the prescriptions "despite clear red flags" indicating the prescriptions were likely unlawful, ignoring other internal data and evidence from pharmacists about dispensing unlawful prescriptions. 

University of Rochester Medical Center plans hospital-at-home program Becker's Health IT; by Giles Bruce; 1/21/25 Rochester, N.Y.-based UR Medicine plans to launch a hospital-at-home program in summer 2025. CMS approved the health system's flagship Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester for acute hospital care at home in June 2024. The six-hospital system has since taken a "pragmatic and deliberate approach" to building the initiative, said Justin Hopkin, MD, chief of hospital medicine at University of Rochester Medical Center. "We are listening closely to what community members want and need, while observing how other health systems overcome challenges as they scale up their hospital-at-home programs," Dr. Hopkin told Becker's.

Enclara Pharmacia announces patient record integration with FireNote Hospice EMR NCN - Nebraska News Channel; Business Wire Press Release; 1/21/25 Enclara Pharmacia, ... [a national] pharmacy solutions provider for the hospice and palliative care sectors, announces the launch of a new interface with FireNoteTM, an innovative hospice electronic medical record (EMR) platform. This integration enables patient demographics and medications to flow seamlessly from FireNote to Enclara’s E3 ProTM medication management system. The new software interface enables timely admissions and medication access for patients while reducing the administrative burden on nurses, a key priority for both Enclara and FireNote.“ 

If you’ve overcome these 9 challenges in life, you’re more resilient than you think Personal Branding Blog; by Lucas Graham; 1/21/25 Resilience isn’t always about being unshakable or invincible. Sometimes, it’s just about surviving the chaos, picking yourself up after the mess, and somehow finding the courage to keep going. In the moment, it’s hard to see how strong you really are—you’re just trying to make it through. But when you pause and look back, you realize the grit it took to get here. ... [If] you’ve been through these nine challenges and made it out, you’re way more resilient than you give yourself credit for.

Free Death Cafés provide a venue for difficult conversations The Northern Virginia Daily. Stephens City, VA; by Brian Brehm; 1/20/25... Blue Ridge Hospice, in partnership with Bowman Library, wants to spark the death-related conversations that many people want to have but are comfortable initiating. Starting this month, the two organizations will be hosting a Death Café on the fourth Thursday of every other month. ... According to a media release from Blue Ridge Hospice, “Death Café is not a grief support group or a counseling session, but rather a casual and welcoming space for people to reflect on death-related topics, with the aim of helping us live life more fully. Whether you’re curious, thoughtful or seeking meaningful conversation, come as you are and engage in this judgment-free, agenda-free discussion.”

Federal report highlights private equity, consolidation concerns Modern Healthcare; by Hayley Desliva; 1/16/25 Three federal agencies on [1/15/25] said "more effective and vigorous" enforcement is needed to protect patients harmed by healthcare's continued consolidation. In a report released just days before a new administration takes over, the Health and Human Services Department, Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department said comments they sought earlier this year on the state of the industry made clear that worries about access to services and costs have intensified as consolidation and private equity's role have grown. ... The report noted several areas of concern: 

Nonprofit opens home-based care facility for hospice patients Fox KNWA-24/KFTA, Lowell, AR; by Justin Trobaugh; 1/17/25 A nonprofit organization introduced a new resource Jan. 17 for those in Northwest Arkansas who need home-based care. Circle of Life provides hospice and in-and-out patient care services, and it opened its Joey Feek Center for Home-Based Care in Lowell. The facility will serve 93% of the non-profit’s patients and was donated by the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation. 

DeKalb library to host memorial pillow workshops Jan. 25 Shaw Local News Network, Dekalb, IL; by Kate Santillan; 1/19/25 The DeKalb Public Library will partner with Northern Illinois Hospice to host two workshop sessions for patrons to create pillows out of a loved one’s shirt. ... Participants can create up to two pillows out of a T-shirt or button-down shirt. Seamsters will be available to assist. Attendees should not bring jackets, thick fabrics or denim. Bereavement support and information will be provided.Editor's note: Do you know that healing grief actually begins with "accepting realities" and its later, ongoing "Task of Mourning" is to develop "enduring connections" or "continuing bonds" with the person or thing that has been lost? [J. William Worden, Grief Counseling & Grief Therapy; 5 editions since 1982] Similar memorials have been created by other hospices using the deceased person's clothing (ie., teddy bears, etc.). This simple, practical method can be adapted easily, with years of meaningful connection and generations of storytelling ahead.