Literature Review

Debate intensifies over palliative care's reach: Wootton vs. Finlay's divergent viewsThe Wall Street Journal, by Getta Pillai; 2/29/24Discover the differing perspectives of Sarah Wootton and Dr. Ilora Finlay on the effectiveness of palliative care. Gain insights into the challenges and potential solutions in end-of-life care.

Musician Mom Cat Janice dead at 31: 'Cat saw her music go places she never expected'People, by Jordan Green; 2/28/24In January, Janice went viral on TikTok after releasing the song "Dance You Outta My Head" inspired by her son. On Wednesday, musician Cat Janice died from cancer. The announcement of the singer-songwriter's death was made via a post on her Instagram account by her family. ... "We are eternally thankful for the outpouring of love that Catherine and our family have received over the past few months," the post continued. 

The devil’s in the details: Hospice providers face Claim Denials for Election Statement technicalities JDSupra, by Lanchi Nguyen Bombalier and Charmaine Mech; 2/29/24Since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) paused much of its audit activity during the COVID Public Health Emergency, the most recent rounds of Medicare audit activity may represent the first “look” at the new Election Statement forms that many hospice providers adopted under the new Medicare election statement requirements effective in October 2020. Unfortunately, these initial audit results from the Medicare Administrative Contractors (“MACs”) suggest that hospice providers and MAC reviewers may not necessarily see eye-to-eye on what information must be included in the new Election Statement.

Many older adults don't receive palliative care before deathMedScape, by Marilynn Larkin; 2/28/24 "One of the challenges and a barrier to accessing palliative home care is the difficulty of predicting survival," Amy Hsu, PhD, an investigator at the Bruyère Research Institute in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, told Medscape Medical News. "Clinicians are good at prognosticating when a patient might be entering their last 3-6 weeks of life, but they have a harder time predicting if someone will survive 6 months or longer."  The team developed the Risk Evaluation for Support: Predictions for Elder-life in their Communities Tool (RESPECT) to see whether access to predicted survival data could inform conversations about a patient's status and palliative care needs. The study was published online on February 26 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Untangling the history, causes behind the precipitous home health aide utilization drop Home Health Care News, by Patrick Filbin; 2/28/24In the last home health proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency in charge of reimbursement rates sent out a request for information on home health aide utilization. Specifically, the agency wondered why Medicare-covered home health aide visits and utilization had fallen off a cliff over the last few decades. According to the Center for Medicare Advocacy, home health aide visits declined by 90% from 1998 to 2019. 

With Amedisys deal pending, Justice Department opens antitrust investigation into UnitedHealth Group Home Health Care News, by Andrew Donlan; 2/27/24The Department of Justice is targeting UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) in an antitrust investigation, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Specifically, the Justice Department is interviewing subjects around interactions between UnitedHealth Group and its health care provider services arm, Optum.

These lawmakers want more pot to be grown for researchCBS News, by Kathryn Watson; 2/27/24Representatives Andy Harris, Republican of Maryland, and Earl Blumenauer, Democrat of Oregon, agree on little related to the legalization of marijuana. Harris opposes it for recreational use and also thinks that as a medicine, it should be scaled back. Blumenauer is pushing for pot to be decriminalized. But the two agree on this — that researchers simply don't have enough access to more potent, high-quality weed, and more producers should be able to grow pot for research.

Surgeon shares biggest lesson: ‘Never underestimate the power of hope Mofitt Cancer Center, by Corrie Pellegrino; 2/27/24An Interview with Dr. Monica Avila. ...[Question] What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned from a patient?[Response] I think the biggest lesson is to never underestimate the power of hope and the power of the patients’ will to live. I’ve had patients literally placed on hospice care who I have taken to the operating room, had successful optimal debulking for ovarian cancer and who are living life right now after chemotherapy. So I never underestimate patients’ ability to keep going and keep living.

Right-sizing interprofessional team training for serious-illness communication: A strength-based approach PEC Innvov, by Liana Eskola, Ethan Silverman, Sarah Rogers, Amy Zelenski; distributed 2/28/24Objective: Palliative care communication skills help tailor care to patients' goals. With a palliative care physician shortage, non-physicians must gain these serious illness communication skills. Historically, trainings have targeted physician-only groups; our goal was to train interprofessional teams.

Is healthcare paying enough attention to nurse leaders?Becker's Clinical Leadership, by Erica Carbajal; 2/26/24 Early this year, the American Organization for Nursing Leadership Foundation released findings from more than 2,400 nurse leaders who were surveyed in November. Thirty-five percent of respondents indicated they were considering an exit from their roles: 12% said they intend to leave and 23% said they may leave within the next six months. When asked what the top reasons were for thinking about an exit, nurse leaders pointed to work having a negative affect on their health and well-being and not having the resources to do their job — a parallel to what bedside nurses consistently point to as drivers of burnout or reasons they've stepped away from the job.