Literature Review
Demand for these health care jobs is increasing most in each state
02/19/24 at 02:00 AMDemand for these health care jobs is increasing most in each stateCentre Daily Times, by Paxtyn Merten Stacker; 2/15/24An analysis including more than 70 other health care jobs projected all but three states to add home health and personal care aides in the highest numbers. In just three states—Colorado, Florida, and South Dakota—did registered nurse job growth outpace home health.
Medicare program; strengthening oversight of Accrediting Organizations (AOs) and preventing AO Conflict of Interest, and related provisions
02/19/24 at 02:00 AMMedicare program; strengthening oversight of Accrediting Organizations (AOs) and preventing AO Conflict of Interest, and related provisionsFederal Register, Proposed Rule by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; 2/15/24This proposed rule would set forth a number of provisions to strengthen the oversight of accrediting organizations (AOs) by addressing conflicts of interest, establishing consistent standards, processes and definitions, and updating the validation and performance standards systems. Additionally, this proposed rule would revise the psychiatric hospital survey process, add a limitation on terminated deemed providers and suppliers when reentering the program, and provides technical corrections for End-Stage Renal Disease facilities and Kidney Transplant Programs.
Home health & hospice vs seniors housing: What investors need to know
02/19/24 at 02:00 AMHome health & hospice vs seniors housing: What investors need to knowLevin Pro HC; 2/13/24We spoke with industry experts Eugene Goldenberg, Managing Director at Edgemont Partners, and Steve Monroe, Founding Editor of our sister publication, The SeniorCare Investor, to gain invaluable insights and help guide investors through the intricacies of two dynamic markets: Home Health & Hospice (HH&H) and seniors housing.
Live discharge of hospice patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias: A systematic review
02/18/24 at 03:50 AMLive discharge of hospice patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias: A systematic reviewAmerican Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, by Stephanie P Wladkowski, Cara L Wallace, Kathryn Coccia, Rebecca C Hyde, Leslie Hinyard, Karla T Washington; 2/24This systematic review summarizes the growing body of evidence on live discharge among hospice patients with Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias (ADRD), a clinical subpopulation that disproportionately experiences this often burdensome care transition.
Hospice of Western Reserve plans to merge with Hospice of North Central Ohio
02/18/24 at 03:45 AMHospice of Western Reserve plans to merge with Hospice of North Central OhioCrain's Cleveland Business, by Paige Bennett; 2/6/24Hospice of the Western Reserve, a provider of palliative and end-of-life care, caregiver support and bereavement services and one of Cleveland’s largest nonprofits, intends to merge with the Hospice of North Central Ohio.
A study of how Americans die may improve their end of life
02/18/24 at 03:40 AMA study of how Americans die may improve their end of lifeMedical Xpress, by Rutgers University; 1/24/24A Rutgers Health analysis of millions of Medicare records has laid the groundwork for improving end-of-life care by demonstrating that nearly all older Americans follow one of nine trajectories in their last three years of life.
CMS publishes Hospice Item Set Manual changes
02/18/24 at 03:35 AMCMS publishes Hospice Item Set Manual changesMcKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 2/12/24Changes went into effect 1/31/24. Table includes Chapter and/or Section in V3.01 of HIS Manual; Page # in V3.01 of HIS Manual; Revision; Explanation
Senior living providers can tap into $25 million grant to develop dementia-specific respite services
02/18/24 at 03:30 AMSenior living providers can tap into $25 million grant to develop dementia-specific respite servicesMcKnights Senior Living, by Kimberly Bonvissuto; 2/7/24Senior living operators who provide, or are considering providing, respite services for family caregivers of people living with dementia can apply for a piece of $20 million in grant funding. The Alzheimer’s Association will use a $25 million, five-year grant award from the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living to establish a new Center for Dementia Respite Innovation tasked with making respite services and service providers more dementia-capable.
New paths could allow medical aid in dying for people with dementia
02/18/24 at 03:25 AMNew paths could allow medical aid in dying for people with dementia McKnight's Long-Term Care News, by Kristen Fischer; 2/7/24A lot of people who have dementia want to use medical aid in dying (MAID) to end their lives before they lose their decision-making capacity and other abilities. This hasn’t been allowed up until now but that could soon change, which could have implications for physicians, according to a new report.
Hospice providers must be better regulated
02/18/24 at 03:20 AMHospice providers must be better regulatedScientific American, 2/1/24 (updated from last week's publication)Too many hospice providers in the U.S. are run by private equity and for-profit corporations. A lack of regulation allows them to provide abysmal end-of-life care.
Part 2, Latest updates from CMS Office of Minority Health: Advancing health equity in rural, tribal, and geographically isolated communities FY2023 year in review
02/18/24 at 03:15 AMPart 2, Latest updates from CMS Office of Minority Health: Advancing health equity in rural, tribal, and geographically isolated communities FY2023 year in reviewCMS Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH); released 2/7/24 The Advancing Health Equity in Rural, Tribal, and Geographically Isolated Communities FY2023 Year in Review report, which outlined the FY 2023 CMS actions and initiatives aimed to enhance health care access and quality for rural, tribal, and geographically isolated communities, including the CMS Health Equity Framework and CMS Framework for Advancing Health Care in Rural, Tribal, and Geographically Isolated Communities.
Hospice Benefit Policy Manual updates related to the addition of Marriage and Family Therapists or Mental Health Counselors to the Hospice Interdisciplinary Team
02/18/24 at 03:10 AMHospice Benefit Policy Manual updates related to the addition of Marriage and Family Therapists or Mental Health Counselors to the Hospice Interdisciplinary TeamCMS; 1/22/24Change Request 13437 (PDF) purpose is to manualize changes to the hospice interdisciplinary group (IDG) to include Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) or Mental Health Counselors (MHCs). Publisher's note: Also see CMS Hospice Open Door Forum (November 29, 2023) Q&A.
Sunday Newsletters
02/18/24 at 03:00 AMSunday NewslettersTop read stories of the last week (in order) is the focus of Sunday newsletters - enjoy!
Today's Encouragement - from Dr. Mae Jemison
02/18/24 at 03:00 AMNever be limited by other people’s limited imaginations. — Dr. Mae Jemison
How good are we at reporting the socioeconomic position, ethnicity, race, religion and main language of research participants? A review of the quality of reporting in palliative care intervention studies
02/17/24 at 03:50 AMHow good are we at reporting the socioeconomic position, ethnicity, race, religion and main language of research participants? A review of the quality of reporting in palliative care intervention studiesPalliative Medicine, by Keerthika Selvakumaran, Katherine E Sleeman, Joanna M Davies; 2/24[UK] In 2018, a review of 18 clinical trials on the integration of palliative care into oncology, found that one-third did not report the race or ethnicity of participants, and a further one-third provided only broad categorisations such as ‘white’ versus ‘other’. The aim of this pragmatic review is to describe the quality of reporting in palliative and end-of-life care intervention studies, for social characteristics including socioeconomic position, ethnicity or race, religion and the main language of participants.
Individual socioeconomic factors have a greater impact on end-of-life care outcomes than regional factors
02/17/24 at 03:45 AMIndividual socioeconomic factors have a greater impact on end-of-life care outcomes than regional factorsJournal of Palliative Medicine, by William H. Gansa, Hannah Kleijwegt, Melissa Aldridge, Claire Ankuda; 2/24High quality of care at the end of life may be more associated with individual socioeconomic factors than regional indicators, including degrees of rurality. Clinicians should strive to recognize the interplay of individual characteristics and regional indicators to provide more personalized care.Publisher's note: Also see https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/jpm.2023.0163.
Palliative sedation: ethics in clinical practice guidelines - systematic review
02/17/24 at 03:40 AMPalliative sedation: ethics in clinical practice guidelines - systematic reviewBJM Supportive & Palliative Care, by Martyna Tomczyk, Cécile Jaques, Ralf J Jox; 8/23Effective cooperation between palliative care clinicians and ethicists should be encouraged, in order to integrate in particular the crucial ethical issues of continuous deep sedation until death when developing or updating clinical practice guidelines on palliative sedation.
The administrative burden on palliative academic physicians
02/17/24 at 03:35 AMThe administrative burden on palliative academic physiciansJournal of Pain and Symptom Management, by Rida Khan, Michael Tang, Ahsan Azhar, Eduardo Bruera; 1/24Every faculty member spends annually an approximate average of 5,300 minutes on administrative activities (approximately the equivalent of 29 consults plus 133 follow-ups). Using the department net average per encounter, the approximate value of these encounters is $36, 936 for each faculty member (about 11 clinical days)... We recommend that regulatory agencies and institutions work together to better regulate this list of tasks and their frequency.
Perspectives on transfusions for hospice patients with blood cancers: A survey of hospice providers
02/17/24 at 03:30 AMPerspectives on transfusions for hospice patients with blood cancers: A survey of hospice providersJournal of Pain and Symptom Management, by Helen P Knight, Caitlin Brennan, Susan Lysaght Hurley, Anna J Tidswell, Melissa D Aldridge, Kimberly S Johnson, Edo Banach, James A Tulsky, Gregory A Abel, Oreofe O Odejide; 1/24We received 113 completed surveys (response rate = 23.5%). Of the cohort, 2.7% reported that their agency always offers transfusions, 40.7% reported sometimes offering transfusions, and 54.9% reported never offering transfusions... Most respondents (76.6%) identified lack of transfusion access in hospice as a barrier to hospice enrollment for blood cancer patients. The top intervention considered as "very helpful" for increasing enrollment was additional reimbursement for transfusions (72.1%).
Health care costs associated with hospice use for people with dementia in the US
02/17/24 at 03:25 AMHealth care costs associated with hospice use for people with dementia in the USHealth Affairs, by Melissa D Aldridge, Lauren J Hunt, Krista L Harrison, Karen McKendrick, Lihua Li, R Sean Morrison; 9/23Policy makers in the US are increasingly concerned that greater use of the Medicare hospice benefit by people with dementia is driving up costs... For community-dwelling people with dementia, Medicare costs were lower for those who used hospice than for those who did not, whether hospice enrollment was in the last three days ($2,200) or last three months ($7,200) of life, primarily through lower inpatient care costs in the last days of life...
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Caregiver perspectives on hospice re-enrollment following a hospice live discharge
02/17/24 at 03:20 AMAlzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Caregiver perspectives on hospice re-enrollment following a hospice live dischargeJournal of Palliative Medicine, by Stephanie P Wladkowski, Susan Enguídanos; 10/23Three-quarters of participants (n = 16) would consider re-enrolling their loved one in hospice. However, some believed they would have to wait for a medical crisis (n = 6) to re-enroll, while others (n = 10) questioned the appropriateness of hospice for patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias if they cannot remain in hospice care until death.
Hidden disparities: How language influences patients' access to cancer care
02/17/24 at 03:15 AMHidden disparities: How language influences patients' access to cancer careNational Comprehensive Cancer Network, by Debbie W Chen, Mousumi Banerjee, Xin He, Lesley Miranda, Maya Watanabe, Christine M Veenstra, Megan R Haymart; 9/23Linguistic disparities exist in access to cancer care for non-English-speaking patients, emphasizing the need for focused interventions to mitigate systems-level communication barriers.
Patient Focus: When should people with heart failure who were admitted to the hospital think about palliative or hospice care?
02/17/24 at 03:10 AMPatient Focus: When Should People With Heart Failure Who Were Admitted to the Hospital Think About Palliative or Hospice Care? An Explanation of “Factors Associated with Mortality and Hospice Use Among Medicare Beneficiaries With Heart Failure Who Received Home Health Services”Journal of Cardiac Failure, by Spencer Carter, MD; Jennifer T. Thibodeau, MD, MSCS; 12/23Hospital stays for patients with heart failure are serious events that mean that the heart may be sicker. Some people with heart failure who are in the hospital are at higher risk of dying within 6 months after their hospital stay. This study describes differing characteristics of people who might be at higher risk of death and who may benefit from palliative or hospice care to better support them.Publisher's note: Also see https://onlinejcf.com/article/S1071-9164(23)00922-3/abstract.
Dr. Hillary Lum appointed Editor-in-Chief of Palliative Medicine Reports
02/17/24 at 03:05 AMDr. Hillary Lum appointed Editor-in-Chief of Palliative Medicine ReportsPress release / email; 2/12/24We are pleased to announce that Hillary Lum, MD, PhD has been appointed incoming Editor-in-Chief of Palliative Medicine Reports, published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. We warmly thank Dr. Christopher Jones for his tenure of leadership and dedication to the publication and the field. Dr. Lum serves as Associate Professor at University of Colorado and completed the MD-PhD program at the University of Wisconsin. Previously, Dr. Lum served as an Associate Editor on Journal of Palliative Medicine and is incredibly active in the community, serving as a member of the American Geriatrics Society and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
Saturday Newsletters
02/17/24 at 03:00 AMSaturday NewslettersResearch literature is the focus of Saturday newsletters - enjoy!