Literature Review

Walmart Health is closingWalmart; 4/30/24Back in 2019, we launched Walmart Health centers. During our five-year journey, we made meaningful impacts with patients while continuing to learn, pivot and evolve. While our mission to help people save money and live better remains, today we are sharing the difficult decision to close Walmart Health and Walmart Health Virtual Care. Through our experience managing Walmart Health centers and Walmart Health Virtual Care, we determined there is not a sustainable business model for us to continue.

Postpandemic, telehealth preferred in outpatient palliative care setting Rheumatology Advisor; by Lisa Kuhns, PhD; 5/1/24 Even after the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine against COVID-19 became available, patients preferred outpatient palliative care visits via video rather than in person, according to study results published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. ... The researchers ... added, “Although telehealth may be preferable for reasons beyond social distancing, this survey found that COVID-19 transmission was still a [postpandemic] concern for some patients, where telehealth can be advantageous. These concerns reflect [an] ongoing sentiment [that] patients with advanced cancer, who are often immune-compromised, have with regards to the pandemic even after widespread vaccine availability and end of COVID-19 restrictions. 

Living our lives – and planning for the inevitableForbes; by Naomi Cahn; 4/28/24 More than half of those with at least $100,000 in investable assets and who have retired – or are planning to do so – do not yet have an estate plan, according to an April 2024 Ameriprise report. ... Recent news about advance medical planning, retirement stability and estate planning show that few are prepared. Approximately two of every three adults do not have an advance directive, a plan in place for when they are incapacitated or need end-of-life decisionmaking.Editor's Note: Executive leaders, are your advance directives in place? If not, what conversations and decisions are you avoiding? Ask some seasoned clinicians what kinds of patient/family situations they have experienced when advance directives were not ready; and potential conflicts that were diverted because of previous decisions and documents.

Hospice Claims Edits for Certifying PhysiciansCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS); Related CR Release Date 4/18/24; Effective Date: 5/1/24; Implementation Date: 10/7/24Related CR Title: Additional Implementation Edits on Hospice Claims for Hospice Certifying Physician Medicare EnrollmentStarting May 1, 2024, we’ll deny hospice claims if the certifying physician, including hospice physician and hospice attending physician, isn’t on our PECOS hospice ordering and referring files. This addresses hospice program integrity and quality of care per Section 6405 of the Affordable Care Act.

Millions of American kids are caregivers Now: ‘The hardest part is that I’m only 17’The Wall Street Journal; by Clare Ansberry; 4/27/24An estimated 5.4 million children help care for relatives, as families can't afford or find other in-home care. ... Leo Remis gos to high school, plays videogames, and helps take care of his disabled mom. ... More than 70% of young caregivers are caring for a parent or grandparent, according to a caregiving report. Many miss school, feel more isolated and worry about the future. Juggling homework with cooking and giving injections can be overwhelming and lead to anxiety.Editor's Note: Access to this article might require a subscription. Click here for alternate access.

HHS issues new rule to strengthen nondiscrimination protections and advance Civil Rights in health careHHS Press Office; 4/26/24Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) advancing protections against discrimination in health care. By taking bold action to strengthen protections against discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability, this rule reduces language access barriers, expands physical and digital accessibility, tackles bias in health technology, and much more.

Vitas bullish on hospice, palliative care acquisitions following Covenant deal Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 4/25/24 Chemed Corp. ... subsidiary Vitas Healthcare is ramping up its strategic growth plans in both hospice and palliative care amid rising demand for these services. Vitas earlier this month completed its $85 million acquisition of Covenant Health and Community Services’ hospice operations and one assisted living facility location. Announced in March, the deal marked the company’s first purchase in several years. More transactions are on the horizon amid changes in the marketplace and increased clinical capacity, according to Vitas Chairman and CEO Nick Westfall.

Five lessons I have learned in my first year as a hospice CEO Sussex World, UK; by Jasmine Cotton; 4/29/24We spoke to Lois Howell, Chief Executive Officer at St Wilfrid's Hospice in Chichester, about the top five lessons she has learnt in her first year as a hospice CEO. ... "I started my role as Chief Executive Officer at St Wilfrid’s Hospice, Chichester on March 27, 2023. Prior to this, I worked as the Director of Governance and Risk at the NHS Trust on the Isle of Wight ... These are five things I have learnt in my first year as CEO of a local hospice, ..." 

Policymakers should support patients over profits in Louisiana Louisiana Illuminator; by Kathy Oubre; 4/29/24... The need for more affordable access to treatment and care is not only real for cancer patients, but also for all Louisianans, with U.S. News and World Report ranking Louisiana in the bottom five states for health care in the country. ... [LA] Senate Bill 347 would require pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and insurance companies to share the savings they receive from negotiated rebates and discounts directly with patients at the point-of-sale, lowering out-of-pocket costs. These rebates and discounts are significant, totaling over $230 billion in 2021 alone. 

A hospice doctor on deathbed visions #shorts #tedx Tedx Talks; by Dr. Christopher Kerr; 4/29/24"When it comes to end-of-life experiences, most of the reports were based on anecdotal reporting. In other words, nobody had asked patients directly or attempted to quantify or measure. So that's what we've done. What we found is that the vast majority, over 80%, reported at least one pre-death dream and vision, described as more real than real and distinct from normal dreaming. 

Signify Health President: ‘We’re just scratching the surface’ on what can be done in the home Home Health Care News; by Andrew Donlan; 4/26/24 Signify Health was purchased by CVS Health for $8 billion in March 2023. Now, it’s one of the core tenants of CVS Healthspire, the health care services segment that CVS executives are banking on to drive future growth for the company. Paymon Farazi, the president of Signify Health, recently joined Home Health Care News’ Disrupt podcast to talk about Signify’s direction over a year after the CVS deal was closed, how the company could work with traditional home-based care providers in the future and where Farazi sees Signify – and health care – headed in the near- and long-term future.

OSF launches new tools to help make end-of-life planning easier News25, Peoria, IL; by Liz Lape; 4/26/24 OSF Healthcare reports that thousands of patients are dying in medical facilities without end-of-life care plans. ... Sarah Overton, Chief Officer of Nursing, describes that studies show that over 70% of patients would prefer a setting other than a hospital to spend their last moments, like at home hospice or palliative care. OSF has launched self-service resources such as an Advanced Careplanning page and Patient Questionnaire on their app MyChart. Overton says the goal is to make end-of-life care planning more available to the public.

FTC finalizes changes to data privacy rule to step up scrutiny of digital health apps Fierce Healthcare; by Heather Landi; 4/26/24 The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized a rule Friday that aims to tighten the reins on digital health apps sharing consumers' sensitive medical data with tech companies. The agency issued a final version of its revised Health Breach Notification Rule to underscore the rule’s applicability to health apps in a bid to protect consumers' data privacy and provide more transparency about how companies collect their health information.