Literature Review

Telemedicine and e-Health: May issue Telemedicine and e-Health; Editor-in-Chief Charles R. Doearn, MBA, FATA and Executive Editor Karen Rheuban, MD, FATA; published monthly The leading peer-reviewed journal for cutting-edge telemedicine applications for achieving optimal patient care and outcomes. [Relevant titles include the following. These are included in this current May's print edition, many were previously published "online ahead of print."]

When victims die more than 30 days after a crash, they don’t count StreetsBlogUSA; by Kea Wilson; 6/24/24... Since it first launched in 1975, the federal Fatality Analysis and Reporting System database has excluded all car crash deaths that occur more than 30 days after the initial collision. That means people like [9-year-old] Ben — who lived with a traumatic brain injury, a severed spinal cord, an inability to speak, and other major disabilities for five years before he died — aren't included in official annual death totals. Survivors say those stats also don't capture the sheer scale of the grief, horror, and hardship suffered by victims and their families, whether they succumb to their injuries immediately or manage to hang on. 

Jimmy Carter’s long stay in hospice dispels myths about end-of-life care Miami Herald; by Brian Dunleavy; 6/24/24 Former President Jimmy Carter's being in hospice for 16 months makes him an "outlier," but it also highlights the multifaceted nature of end-of-life care and dispels myths about that care, experts told UPI. ... [Dr. Joan Teno, a former hospice provider and an expert in geriatric care said,] "President Carter is an outlier in that only a small percentage of hospice patients survive more than 15 months," she told UPI in an email. "The fact that he has lived so long on hospice is testament to his excellent medical care at home and, if I had to guess, his will to live." It also illustrates the core focus of hospice, which is typically geared toward people with an anticipated life expectancy of 6 months or less, for whom curing their underlying illness isn't an option, Teno added. Defying the odds: More than 90% of patients who enter hospice care die within the first six months, and nearly 40% die within the first week, according to the National Institutes of Health.Editor's Note: Too many hospice organizations and news outlets have used former President Jimmy Carter's longer-than-normal hospice stay to discount and ignore core "hospice" care. Rarely--if ever--have any of these news article been transparent to mention the CMS Hospice Face-to-Face Encounter Requirement. This article is more transparent by describing his hospice stay of 16 months as being as "outlier." Still, its headline can be misleading with its phrase "... dispels myths about end-of-life care."

Bristol Hospice enters Mississippi market with Mid-Delta Hospice acquisitionHospice News; by Holly Vossel; 6/21/24Bristol Hospice has acquired Mississippi-based Mid-Delta Hospice, a move that marked its entry into the state.

Spirituality as a determinant of health: Emerging policies, practices, and systemsHealth Affairs; by Katelyn N. G. Long, Xavier Symons, Tyler J. VanderWeele, Tracy A. Balboni, David H. Rosmarin, Christina Puchalski, Teresa Cutts, Gary R. Gunderson, Ellen Idler, Doug Oman, Michael J. Balboni, Laura S. Tuach, Howard K. Koh; 6/24Reimagining public health’s future should include explicitly considering spirituality as a social determinant of health that is linked to human goods and is deeply valued by people and their communities. Spirituality includes a sense of ultimate meaning, purpose, transcendence, and connectedness. With that end in mind, we assessed how recommendations recently issued by an expert panel for integrating spiritual factors into public health and medicine are being adopted in current practice in the United States.

What employees say about their bosses and their companies: Top Workplaces 2024

Private equity investment in assisted living: Distinct impacts and policy considerationsHealth Affairs; by Kali S. Thomas, John R. Bowblis, Paula Carder, Cassandra Hua, Sean Shenghsiu Huang, Yashaswini Singh, Lindsey Smith, Momotazur Rahman; 6/18/24Numerous academic publications, newspaper articles, and government reports have addressed private equity (PE) investment in health care entities, including nursing homes, hospitals, and physician practices. Proponents argue PE investment brings much-needed financial capital, allowing health care providers to renovate aging facilities, invest in the latest technology, spur innovation, and enhance operational efficiency. However, there are also concerns that PE investment has been associated with higher prices, lower quality, and inadequate staffing levels. Such changes could lead to patient harm, even death. ... However, one significant and continually expanding sector—assisted living—has several distinct features that, compared to other health care entities, may lead to different outcomes from PE investments. Assisted living is paid for differently. In relation to PE investments, the arrangement of assets and operations in assisted living are different from other health care sectors. This distinction creates unique and more nuanced incentives. Crucially, there’s actually no evidence to date on the effect of PE investment on the welfare of the people who reside and work in assisted living communities.

Photojournalist blinded by MPD projectile during 2020 unrest enters hospice care  Star Tribune Minneapolis, MN); by Zoë Jackson; 6/21/24 Photojournalist Linda Tirado, who was partially blinded by a foam projectile fired by Minneapolis Police during unrest in June 2020 has entered hospice care. The photographer was covering riots outside the Third Precinct in Minneapolis following the murder of George Floyd when she was injured four years ago. Minneapolis police "ignored the press credential she wore around her neck" and marked her with a "ballistic tracking round" and then "shot her in her face with foam bullets," according to her federal lawsuit, for which she was awarded $600,000 from the city of Minneapolis. ...

Column: Hospice offers redirection of care The Andalusia Star News; by Vickie Wacaster; 6/22/24 Watching someone you love grow weaker and weaker with each passing day is challenging. Yet, sadly, many of us experience this. In my own life, when my late husband was diagnosed with a terminal, non-curable, yet treatable disease, I felt we were living on a roller coaster of emotions, appointments, and treatment options. ... Every day was a journey into uncharted territory for both of us. ... It was only during the last few days that we found the strength to say “no more treatments” and asked for hospice. ... Physicians recognize that hospice is not a withdrawal of care but a redirection of care to meet the needs of patients with an advanced terminal illness/disease. ...Editor's Note: The word "redirection" powerfully, easily shifts the course of care. The person remains at the center, with the focus being the person, not the disease. This is not a denial of dying and death, but rather a signpost, a gentle way to open the difficult conversation for providing information and asking "what matters most to you, now?" 

In summer, ice becomes water faster than I can make decisions. - Anonymous

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Hospice care company owner sentenced on health care fraud charges United States Attorney's Office - Western District of Louisiana; Press Release; 6/20/24 United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Kristal Glover-Wing, 51, formerly a resident of Broussard, Louisiana, and now living in California, has been sentenced for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud. United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays sentenced Glover-Wing to 72 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.  She was also ordered to pay $3,675,948.42 in restitution. ... Glover-Wing was the owner of Angel Care Hospice (“Angel Care”), a Louisiana corporation that purported to provide hospice services in Lafayette Parish and other parishes in the Western District of Louisiana. Through evidence presented at trial, jurors learned that from approximately 2009 through 2017, over 24 patients were placed on hospice by Angel Care without meeting the criteria required by Medicare. During the time period that the patients were on hospice and under the care and supervision of Angel Care, none of them had been diagnosed with a terminal condition. In fact, many of the patients themselves, who are still alive and thriving many years later, as well as family members of other patients, testified that they never knew that they had been placed on hospice. 

Novant scraps $320M hospital deal with CHS Becker's Hospital Review; by Alan Condon; 6/18/24 Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health has called off its planned $320 million acquisition of two North Carolina hospitals from Community Health Systems after an appellate court granted the Federal Trade Commission an emergency injunction blocking the deal. In a 2-1 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it would allow the FTC to prevent the two-hospital acquisition from proceeding until its appeal is resolved. ... The FTC argues that the transaction would "irreversibly consolidate the market for hospital services in the Eastern Lake Norman Area in the northern suburbs of Charlotte."