Literature Review

Physicians, spirituality, and compassionate patient careNew England Journal of Medicine, by Daniel P Sulmasy; 3/24The past few decades have seen an international revival of interest in the role of spirituality in patient care. ... I believe this trend is salutary for patients and health care professionals alike. Yet the success of a biopsychosocialspiritual approach to 21st-century health care will depend on careful attention to ethical guidelines and boundaries in our increasingly pluralistic world.

Karen Bullock honored for Outstanding Contributions to Diversity in Palliative MedicineWomen in Academia Report; 3/24As an endowed professor at Boston College and scholar at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Dr. Bullock’s new award honors her dedication to improving care for underrepresented patient populations in hospice and palliative medicine.

The role and professional standards of the Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner in hospice and palliative careJournal of Hospice & Palliative Care Nursing, by Coats, Heather PhD, APRN-BC; Henrichs, Kelly DNP, RN, GNP-BC; 3/24The adult/gerontology (gero) nurse practitioner (NP) delivers primary and/or specialty palliative care to persons and their families who live each day with a myriad of serious illnesses. In this role, the adult/gero NP uses their skill set to address the whole person (physical, psychological, social, and spiritual/existential) to improve the quality of life for persons they care for. This article is the fourth in a series of 6 highlighting the different roles of the adult/gero NP and the advanced certified hospice and palliative registered nurse, and how these 2 roles overlap. The purpose of this article was to provide details of education and certification pathways for these NP roles, describe the overlaps in clinical care, and illustrate how the adult/gero NP in palliative and hospice care can contribute to leadership in program development for care of persons and their families who live with serious illness.

Top ten tips palliative clinicians should know about rural palliative care in the United StatesJournal of Palliative Medicine, by Jack Kimball, Chamika Hawkins-Taylor, Anne Anderson, Debra Gay Anderson, Mary Lou Clark Fornehed, Patricia Justis, Nasreen Lalani, Sarah Mollman, Brandi Pravecek, Julie Rice, Janelle Shearer, Dillon Stein, Salom M. Teshale, and Marie A. Bakitas; 3/24Palliative care improves outcomes, yet rural residents often lack adequate and equitable access. This study provides practical tips to address palliative care (PC)-related challenges in rural communities. Strategies include engaging trusted community partners, addressing cultural factors, improving pediatric care, utilizing telehealth, networking with rural teams including caregivers, and expanding roles for nurses and advanced practice providers.

Disruptions to endure even as Change Healthcare fixes systems Modern Healthcare, by Lauren Berryman; 3/28/24 Providers and health insurance companies see a long road ahead that stretches past whenever UnitedHealth Group declares Change Healthcare is fixed. Full restoration of claims, billing and other processes won't mark the end of the mess that began with a cyberattack last month, which forced UnitedHealth Group to take Change Healthcare systems offline and plunged the healthcare sector into disarray. Healthcare organizations anticipate operational and financial effects even when Change Healthcare is up and running again. 

Connecticut Appellate Court rules employer could discharge medical marijuana user impaired on the job The National Law Review; by John G. Stretton, Nicole S. Mulé, Zachary V. Zagger of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.; 3/27/24 On March 19, 2024, the Connecticut Appellate Court upheld an employer’s right to discharge an employee for being impaired on the job from medical marijuana under a state law that provides employment protections for qualified medical marijuana users.

Bon Secours Mercy Health posts $123.9M operating loss; new CFO to begin July 1 Becker's Hospital CFO Report, by Alan Condon; 3/26/24 Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health reported a $123.9 million operating loss (-1% margin) in 2023, improving on the $323.5 million operating loss (-2.9% margin) in 2022, according to financial documents published March 25. ... Agency costs declined from $504.1 million in 2022 to $256.2 million in 2023. ... Debbie Bloomfield, PhD, will retire as CFO at the end of 2024 after more than three decades with the health system. She will begin transitioning from her CFO role on July 1 and shift to financial leadership oversight of the system's subsidiaries. Travis Crum, senior vice president of finance, will take over as CFO on July 1. 

How sales and marketing compensation can get hospices into hot waterHospice News, by Holly Vossel; 3/27/24Regulators are taking a closer look at how hospices pay their marketing and outreach workforces to curb fraudulent activity tied to referral streams. Federal and state regulatory agencies have systems in place to detect fraud, waste and abuse in hospice, and some are honing on oversight of sales, marketing and outreach staff payment arrangements, according to Ellen Persons, shareholder at Polsinelli Law Firm. 

Expanding the use of continuous sedation until death and physician-assisted suicide  The Journal of Medicine & Philosophy: A Forum for Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine; by Samuel H Lipuma and Joesph P Demarco; 3/27/24 The controversy over the equivalence of continuous sedation until death (CSD) and physician-assisted suicide/euthanasia (PAS/E) provides an opportunity to focus on a significant extended use of CSD. 

Home care unionization efforts beginning to tick back up Home Health Care News, by Andrew Donlan; 3/25/24 The home care workforce has traditionally been a tough one to organize. But efforts have ramped up over recent years, leading to more workers opting into unions across the country. Recently, University of Rochester Medicine Home Care (URMHC) workers “overwhelmingly” chose to join a labor union. They aligned themselves with 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, which is one of the largest health care worker unions in the country. 

Other Business Headlines of Interest, updated 3/28/24 per nasdaq.com

Steward to sell 'highly desired' physician group to Optum Becker's Hospital CFO Report, by Alan Condon; 3/27/24 Dallas-based Steward Health Care plans to sell its physician group to UnitedHealth Group's subsidiary Optum, The Boston Globe reported March 26. The proposed sale of Stewardship Health is part of the 33-hospital system's plan to shore up its finances amid ongoing challenges, including falling behind in paying bills and rents. If approved, physicians who work at Steward facilities across nine states would be employed by Optum, the largest employer of physicians in the U.S.

Fall prevention for the elderly: 13 strategies to keep them safe U.S. News & World Report, by Claire Wolters, ed. by Christine Comizion, MPH; 3/26/24Falls are the leading cause of injury in adults 65 and older – with reports showing about 14 million adults fall each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ... According to the CDC, falls are also the leading cause of injury-related death in the 65-and-older population – and the fall death rate is growing.Here's what to know about what increases risk for falls in older adults, and get familiar with fall prevention tips and safety measures that can help reduce the risk.Editor's Note: This U.S. News article primes the pump. Preventing falls matters especially for vulnerable hospice patients as their disease progresses, and as they and/or family want the person to be as mobile as possible. What do your Incident Reports tell you about falls? What falls-specific education do you provide for your interdisciplinary teams? On-call staff? Family caregivers? Volunteers? What QAPI programs have addressed falls?