Literature Review

Top home health & hospice investors of 2023Levin Associates; 2/20/24The most active Home Health & Hospice investor during 2023 was The Pennant Group, which completed the year with five deal announcements across the home hospice, home health and multi-service specialties. The company made acquisitions in Arizona, Idaho, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado. [Click on the title's link for more investors and extensive details.]

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.

Exploring the role of medicinal cannabis in palliative careMicrodose, by Keith Fiveson; 2/19/24Palliative care is a crucial aspect of healthcare, aiming to enhance the quality of life for patients facing incurable illnesses. Within this context, the use of medicinal cannabis (MC) has emerged as a potential avenue for addressing various symptoms and improving overall well-being. This article delves into a systematic review conducted by Marjan Doppen and colleagues, which examines the current evidence surrounding MC’s effects and potential harms in palliative care settings.

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.

Inside Hackensack Meridian's strategy to reduce nurse turnoverBecker's Clinical Leadership, by Mariah Taylor; 2/15/24The nation has an average nurse vacancy rate of almost 16%, according to the 2023 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report. At Edison, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian Health, however, that figure is 6.5%. The secret, according to one of its leaders: creating a strong culture, investing in nurse leadership development and implementing a strong employee referral program.

22 recent CEO exitsBecker's Hospital Review, by Alexis Kayser; updated 2/16/24Ousters, retirements and a slew of C-suite switch-ups — Becker's has reported the following hospital and health system CEO departures in 2024

Poll: Md. voters support medical aid-in-dying option, but bill is far from the finish lineMaryland Matters, by Danielle J. Brown; 2/19/24The survey results, released last week, showed that 69.9% of Maryland voters think that a mentally sound but terminally ill adult with only six months to live should have the legal option to request medical aid-in-dying services, while 22% of those who responded to the poll do not support that option. About 8% of the respondents did not answer. ... The overall support for medical aid-in-dying spans political parties and demographics, according to the poll results, as 72% of Democrats surveyed were in support along with 69% of Republicans and 65% of unaffiliated voters.

Death can be isolating and dehumanizing. But what if it didn’t have to be?City Life, by Ben Seal; 2/17/24... In the three years since Elaine’s passing, I’ve longed for a world where more people could be given the chance to die as she did — with the fullness of life surrounding her, and with complete support, emphasizing the emotional and spiritual, not just the medical. In Philadelphia and beyond, a growing community of death-care workers — doulas, nurses, grief counselors, social workers, even funeral directors — is trying to build that world. They are reclaiming death and dying from the institutional model that has become the norm over the past century. Editor's Note: Has hospice now become so institutionalized and medical/regulatory focused that we have lost sight of "emphasizing the emotional and spiritual, not just the medical"? I ask the question, but do not draw judgment, as answers must be contextualized. 

Medicare home health patients more likely to eventually receive hospice care, study finds McKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 2/20/24Patients who use home health later in life tend to be more likely to enter hospice for end-of-life care — particularly those without dementia. This underscores the need for better home health staff training and enhanced care continuity for Medicare patients, according to a recent study. ... Those beneficiaries who received home healthcare were more likely to enter hospice during their last year of life compared to those who did not have any home health, the study published Feb. 15 in the Journal of Palliative Medicine found.