Literature Review

Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.  ―  Wayne W. Dyer

[Updated] Inefficient, unfair audits continue to burden hospices, new survey report findsMcKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 3/12/24Clunky audit processes have long strained hospice providers’ time and money, and though regulators have made some improvements, many agencies still report glaring issues with investigations, according to a new report released Tuesday by four major hospice organizations. ... Many audits have failed to meet their expressed purpose: Reining in noncompliance. ...

CMS Statement on continued action to respond to the cyberattack on change healthcareCMS.gov Press Release; 3/9/24 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is continuing to monitor and assess the impact that the cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group’s subsidiary Change Healthcare has had on all provider and supplier types. Today, CMS is announcing that, in addition to considering applications for accelerated payments for Medicare Part A providers, we will also be considering applications for advance payments for Part B suppliers. 

Chemed's Vitas Healthcare plans $85M acquisition to expand Florida footprint

NH End of Life Act to allow medical aid in dying moves closer to passage Gannett / Aol., by Margie Cullen, Portsmouth Herald; 3/8/24 The End of Life Options Act, which would allow terminally ill people in New Hampshire to choose to receive medical aid in dying, gained its first victory in the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Both Republicans and Democrats voted in favor of House Bill 1283, sending it to the full House of Representatives with a recommendation to pass, 13-7.

Costs of long-term care: ‘Financial ruin is baked into the system’ KFF Health News, by Jordan Rau and Reed Abelson; 3/9/24 Thousands of readers reacted to the articles in the “Dying Broke” series about the financial burden of long-term care in the United States. They offered their assessments for the government and market failures that have drained the lifetime savings of so many American families. And some offered possible solutions. In more than 4,200 comments, readers shared their struggles in caring for spouses, older parents, and grandparents. They expressed anxieties about getting older themselves and needing help to stay at home or in institutions like nursing homes or assisted living facilities.

Navigating Aging: Does our society simply not care about our vulnerable older population? KFF Health News, by Judith Graham; 3/10/24 ... The pandemic made things worse. Prejudice against older adults is nothing new, but “it feels more intense, more hostile” now than previously, said Karl Pillemer, 69, a professor of psychology and gerontology at Cornell University. “I think the pandemic helped reinforce images of older people as sick, frail, and isolated — as people who aren’t like the rest of us,” he said. “And human nature being what it is, we tend to like people who are similar to us and be less well disposed to ‘the others.'" 

Palliative care cuts costs for metastatic cancer

ACC updates HFrEF Decision Pathway, reinforcing the Four Pillars of Therapy

What deathbed visions teach us about livingDNYUZ; 3/12/24Chris Kerr was 12 when he first observed a deathbed vision. His memory of that summer in 1974 is blurred, but not the sense of mystery he felt at the bedside of his dying father. ... It would be more than 40 years before Kerr felt compelled to speak about that evening in the hospital room. He had followed his father, and three generations before him, into medicine and was working at Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo, where he was the chief medical officer and conducted research on end-of-life visions.

Aid in dying or physician-assisted suicide? As Minn. lawmakers weigh bill, advocates and opponents choose different terms ArcaMax / Pioneer Press, by Alex Derosier; 3/10/24... “Medical aid in dying” or “physician-assisted suicide” is an emotional issue for many, with a January [Minnesota] House hearing on the bill drawing an audience of hundreds on either side. Lawmakers heard hours of testimony from cancer patients with only months to live, and families of people who suffered painful deaths from disease. There also were people concerned legal elective death could eventually become an option for people with disabilities and negatively affect care. But it isn’t just a debate on medical ethics. There’s also an ongoing discussion in medicine, academia, journalism and law over what society should call the practice.

Is extending life by weeks worth the toll some cancer drugs take? Doctors push for 'common-sense oncology' CBC News, by Amina Zafar and Christine Birak; 3/11/24 People may celebrate a 2-week improvement in survival without acknowledging costs. When a treatment buys a few weeks or months but comes with with a lot of side-effects, then the perspectives of people with cancer may differ, says Dr. Christopher Booth. ... The goal of what they call "common-sense oncology" is to prioritize treatments that meaningfully improve survival and quality of life. They aim to address what they see as problems in the field, such as a lack of critical thinking in oncology training, falling standards for drug approvals and avoidance of end-of-life discussions.

Telehealth preferences among patients with advanced cancer in the post COVID-19 vaccine eraJournal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Kawoswi K Shih, MD; Adrienne B Arechiga; Xi Chen PhD; Diana L. Urbauer, MS; Aline Rozman De Moraes, MD; Ashley J Rodriquez; Lisa Thomas; Penny A Stanton; Eduardo Bruera, MD; and David Hui MD; 3/10/24 Background: Few studies have examined patient preferences for telehealth in palliative care after the availability of COVID-19 vaccines. We examined patient preferences for video versus in-person visits and factors contributing to preferences in the post-vaccine era. Conclusion: Patients expressed strong preference for video over in-person visits in the outpatient palliative care setting.