Literature Review

TCN Talks (podcast): Top new stories for February

Why I chose palliative care: A nurse's personal journey to providing comfort careAnschutz, by Lauren Carter; 3/5/24My interest in palliative care started with my grandma’s use of hospice services seventeen years ago. She suffered with multiple sclerosis for over forty years. ... What may have been a terrible experience for most people was actually made very positive for me. ... Unfortunately, I had another opportunity fifteen years later, to once again be there for my family in this way. ... It takes empathy and specialized training to assist in end-of-life care. It may be something that we are called to. I care deeply about these patients and their families. I am able to have difficult conversations when necessary. I try to create space for family members to talk about who the person in the hospital bed is, when that person can no longer talk for themselves. ...

CMS offers relief to providers affected by Change Healthcare outageModern Healthcare, by Lauren Berryman; 3/5/24The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has rolled out efforts to help providers navigate the Change Healthcare outage disrupting healthcare operations nationwide, the Health and Human Services Department announced Tuesday.Editor's Note: Access to the full article requires a subscription

UChicago Medicine nurses plan 1-day strike Becker's Hospital Review, by Kelly Gooch; 3/5/24Members of the National Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United, are set to hold a one-day strike March 14 at UChicago Medicine. The union represents 2,800 nurses at UChicago Medicine, according to a union news release. UChicago Medicine, which includes the flagship 811-bed University of Chicago Medical Center, has roughly 13,000 employees total.Editor's Note: The University of Chicago Medical Center provides palliative and hospice care services. At the time of this publication, we do not know if or how these services will be impacted. 

HHS intervenes in Change Healthcare hack Becker's Health IT, by Giles Bruce; 3/5/24HHS said March 5 it would help accelerate payments to hospitals affected by the Change Healthcare cyberattack and institute other workarounds for providers. The agency said hospitals facing cash-flow issues from the IT outage can submit accelerated payment requests, like those issued during the pandemic, to their Medicare Administrative Contractors for "individual consideration." HHS said more details would be coming from the contractors later this week. 

'World's most ethical companies' list includes health systemsBecker's Hospital Review, by Kelly Gooch; 3/4/24Ethisphere Institute, a for-profit company that defines and measures corporate ethical standards, has released its 2024 list of the "world's most ethical companies," which includes health systems and other healthcare companies. This year's list recognizes 136 organizations "for their unwavering commitment to business integrity." Honorees span 20 countries and 44 industries, and include 15 first-time honorees and six organizations that have been on the list since its inception 18 years ago. [Click on the title's link for the] healthcare companies that made the 2024 list, along with their headquarters. ...

Hospice golf tourney raises more than $130,000 Ocala Gazetter, by Bruce Ackerman; originally posted 1/30/24, redistributed 3/5/24The event raised $131,365 through the 184 participating golfers and a silent auction. At the culmination of the event, a giant check for that amount was presented to Hospice of Marion County CEO Rick Bourne by Gary and Dawn Crawford, co-owners of Pinnacle Retirement Advisors. ... The event was sponsored by Pinnacle Retirement Advisors to benefit the Nancy Renyhart Dementia Education Program.

Understanding the role algorithms play in our lives and navigating palliative careListen - Life Matters, by Hilary Harper, presenter podcast; 3/4/24Every day, we interact with dozens of algorithms as we go about our lives, but many of us don't understand how they work. How do we get the the best out of these tools while keeping the potential dangers in check?Editor's Note: From palliative care experts Australia; information about algorithms and Artificial Intelligence (AI) transfers to our USA palliative care (of course, without applications to CMS systems).

Johns Hopkins study reveals medical marijuana lowers pain, hospital visits BNN, by Wojciech Zylm; 3/5/24Recent research highlights significant improvements in well-being for cannabis users, offering hope for those with chronic illnesses. The study showcases a potential shift in the perception and utilization of medical cannabis in healthcare.

Apparently healthy, but diagnosed with Alzheimer’s?The New York Times, by Paula Span; 3/4/24 New criteria could lead to a dementia diagnosis on the basis of a simple blood test, even in the absence of obvious symptoms.

Editorial: Illness trajectories in the age of big data The BMJ; by Peter Tanuseputro, Colleen Webber, and James Downar; 3/1/24For decades, healthcare providers have understood that patients follow typical trajectories of health decline as they approach the end of life, and they have used this understanding to help patients and families anticipate the dying process. Traditional trajectories focus on function or overall health status and include sudden death, terminal illness ..., organ failure ..., and frailty ... Two Education articles in the BMJ add novel dimensions to our understanding of health decline. Murray et al explain how declines in function do not always mirror declines in social, psychological, and spiritual dimensions. They also add a new trajectory, multimorbidity, to describe a person with conditions from multiple trajectories (such as heart disease from organ failure and cognitive impairment from frailty).

Providers meet with OMB to prevent ‘devastating’ effect of 80/20 provision McKnights Home Care, by Adam Healy; 3/4/24Home care stakeholders have been busy on Capitol Hill voicing concerns about a controversial provision of the proposed Medicaid Access Rule. The National Association for Home Care & Hospice and Home Care Association of America met with the Office of Management and Budget last week to discuss the Access Rule’s so-called 80/20 provision. The provision, if finalized, would require that 80% of Medicaid payments for personal care, home health and homemaker services be spent on workers’ compensation. “If that one provision is finalized as proposed, it would be so detrimental that we’d likely lose a significant portion of our service delivery base and people would go without care,” Damon Terzaghi, NAHC’s director of Medicaid HCBS (home- and community-based services) said in an interview with McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. “It would truly be devastating.”

Hospice launches Mothers Day tribute page Newrie.ie; 3/3/24Southern Area Hospice has launched an online tribute page ahead of Mother’s Day, providing a platform for individuals to remember their mothers, grandmothers, and mother figures who have passed away. Visitors to the Mother’s Day online tribute page can leave messages, share stories, and upload photographs of their loved ones. The page also allows individuals to read other dedications, fostering a sense of community and remembrance.