Literature Review

Western Slope lawmakers introduce bill to license funeral home operatorsGrand Junction (CO) Daily Sentinel, by Elliott Wenzler; 3/6/24[CO Senate Bill 173] would address one glaring issue with the funeral home industry in Colorado — it’s the only state in the country that doesn’t license funeral home operators.Publisher's note: This legislative action is part of a broad response to the Return to Nature Funeral Home felony charges following discovery of 189 improperly stored bodies detailed in this Colorado Springs Gazette story.

CMS reportsCMS email; 3/8/24

How CON laws influence hospice quality, program integrityHospice News, by Holly Vossel; 3/8/24Variations in hospice certificate of need (CON) state laws are raising program integrity concerns.Notable mentions: Susan Ponder-Stansel, President and CEO of Alivia Care; Paul Ledford, President and CEO of the Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association; Eddie Belluomini, COO of 1Care Hospice & 1Care Kids; Paula Sanders, Executive Director of the Georgia Hospice and Palliative Care Organization; Matt Hansen, Executive Director of the Homecare & Hospice Association of Utah.

Medicare Hospice – exploding in size but riddled with quality concerns Penn LDI, by Hoag Levins; 3/8/24 Five top experts on hospice care convened in a virtual discussion of the Medicare Hospice program. This video is the full session.

‘Nothing less than a crisis’ as 45 percent of SNFs cite serious financial issues in AHCA survey McKnights Senior Living, by Kathleen Steele Gaivin; 3/6/24 Forty-five percent of skilled nursing facility participants in a new survey said they are “either operating in the red or barely breaking even.” The American Health Care Association survey of 441 nursing home providers, the results of which were released Tuesday, found that 42% of SNFs are operating on a total margin of 0% to 3%, and only 13% are operating with a total margin that is greater than 3%. AHCA’s State of the Sector Report also found that staffing challenges remain.

Mayo's plan to expand AI tool access in 2024 Becker's Health IT, by Naomi Diaz; 3/7/24Rochester, MN-based Mayo Clinic has saved its nurses 30 seconds per In Basket message using generative AI. ... This AI-driven system assists clinicians by generating initial responses to patient messages that have nonurgent medical questions. ... The tool has been able to generate draft responses to 3.9 million patient messages in 11 months saving nurses approximately 30 seconds per message, leading to potential monthly time savings of 1,500 hours across the organization, according to the post. Editor's Note: Even without purchasing expensive AI software, many basic software systems / email systems have similar systems to generate sample response phrases, e.g. Microsoft Outlook and Google's Gmail. Your clinicians are sure to have honed out numerous time-savers. Ask! Compile results, assess best practices and reward their input. 

Programmatic palliative care consultations in pediatric heart transplant evaluations Pediatr Cardiol, by Erika J Mejia, Rui Xiao, Jennifer K Walter, Chris Feudtner, Kimberly Y Lin, Aaron G DeWitt, Meeta Prasad Kerlin; 3/8/24 Guidelines advocate for integrating palliative care into the management of heart failure (HF) and of children with life-limiting disease. The potential impact of palliative care integration into pediatric HF on patient-centered outcomes is poorly understood. The present study sought to assess the association of programmatic implementation of palliative care into the heart transplant evaluation process with hospital-free days (HFD) and end of life (EOL) treatment choices. 

Beloved teacher dies of rare illness, students raise enough money to put her children through college NBC News 10, Rochester, NY; by Jennifer Lewke; 3/6/24 A school of students, devastated by the sudden loss of a favorite teacher, worked together to ensure her legacy lives on. Emily Casey died less than a month after being diagnosed with a rare and frightening disease. In the two weeks since she passed, her students at Our Lady of Mercy School have raised more than $150,000 in her memory. 

Frontline hospice staff need to understand new CMS survey methodsHospice News, by Holly Vossel; 3/5/24Ensuring staff are educated around revisions to hospice survey processes will be key to navigating ongoing regulatory changes in the industry. This year will bring further implementation of survey validation activities, but also new regulatory oversight processes, according to Kim Skehan, vice president of accreditation for the Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP) organization.

Palliative care across the spectrum of heart failure JACC Heart Fail;  y Laura P Gelfman, Moritz Blum, Modele O Ogunniyi, Colleen K McIlvennan, Dio Kavalieratos , Larry A Allen; online ahead of print 2/27/24; print 3/8/24 Persons with heart failure (HF) often suffer from poor symptom control, decreased quality of life, and poor communication with their health care providers. ... New models are required that are better informed by high-quality data, engage a range of health care providers in primary palliative care principles, and have clear triggers for specialty palliative care engagement, with specific palliative interventions tailored to patient's illness trajectory and changing needs.

Why not-for-profit health systems need positive margins: Deloitte Becker's Hospital CFO, by Andrew Cass; 2/28/24Health system margins are the "lifeblood of a healthy, patient-centered, innovative health care system and community," according to a report from consulting firm Deloitte.  "Claims that profits are not important in fact undermine the ability to fund the mission, serve the community, and deliver better, equitable care," Deloitte said in the report. ... "[Systems] should consider a holistic approach that integrates margin drivers to create a balanced transformation portfolio, according to the report. Timing and sequencing are important within each driver and "a full understanding of the dollar impact and priority of each is necessary for margin improvement to be successful."

What is the appropriate response when a colleague is not following an aid-in-dying law? American Clinicians Academy on Medical Aid in Dying - Ethics Consultation Service; posted by Jean Abbott, MD, MH; originally posted 2/2/24 and emailed 3/4/24 Outline of Ethics Question: A resource practitioner for aid-in-dying care has encountered practitioners who have not followed the requirements of the laws in that state, including eligibility, documentation, and other standard legal or medical elements of aid-in-dying care. The resource practitioner wonders what ethical responsibilities should guide their response to these concerns. Definition of “resource practitioner”: An experienced prescriber who acts as a source of information or a mentor for others prescribing or consulting for patients considering aid in dying. Their role is to advise the provider on aid-in-dying best medical practices and the process required to comply with the law.

Podcast: Dr. Robert Carolla’s reflections on life and mortality Springfield Daily Citizen; 2/28/24 Dr. Carolla, a pioneer in his field, sheds light on the delicate balance between life and mortality that oncologists navigate daily.  Through his work with the Hospice Foundation of the Ozarks and national recognition from StoryCorps broadcasts, he and his wife, Peg, have touched countless lives with their compassion and dedication. Dr. Carolla’s journey offers a profound perspective shift on life, death, grief and the human experience.