Literature Review

How home care companies can optimize operationsMcKnights Home Care, by Lance A. Slatton; 3/12/24To meet the evolving needs of this growing industry without placing additional stress on employed caregivers, it’s crucial that home care companies optimize their operations. This may involve streamlining their processes, adopting innovative technologies, and prioritizing efficiency to ensure high-quality care and sustainable growth.

California Leads the State-Level Battle Against Hospice Fraud Hospice News, by Jim Parker; 3/13/24As hospice program integrity remains in the spotlight, California remains the only state to take action on curbing the problem. Beginning in 2021, numerous reports emerged of unethical or illegal practices among hundreds of newly licensed hospices, particularly among new companies popping up in California, Texas, Nevada and Arizona. California’s Department of Justice (CDOJ) in 2021 issued a report detailing the state’s history of lax oversight.

Can we make more accurate prognoses during last days of life?Journal of Palliative Medicine; by Sylvie Bouchard, Andreea Paula Iancu, Elena Neamt, François Collette, Sylvie Dufresne, Patricia Maureen Guercin, Suganthiny Jeyaganth, Desanka Kovacina, Taliá Malagón, Laurie Musgrave, Marilisa Romano, Jenny Wong, Sybil Skinner-Robertson; 3/8/24Background: ... Established methods (Palliative Performance Scale [PPS], Palliative Prognostic Index [PPI]) have been validated for intermediate- to long-term prognoses, but last-weeks-of-life prognosis has not been well studied. Patients admitted to a palliative care facility often have a life expectancy of less than three weeks. Reliable last-weeks-of-life prognostic tools are needed. Conclusions: ... Using SPS [Short-Term Prognosis Signs] along with PPS and PPI during the last weeks of life could enable a more precise short-term survival prediction across various end-of-life diagnoses. The translation of this research into clinical practice could lead to a better adapted treatment, the identification of a most appropriate care setting for patients, and improved communication of prognosis with patients and families.

What are important ethical implications of using Facial Recognition Technology in health care? AMA Journal of Ethics, by Nicole Martinez-Martin, JD, PhD; orig post 2/24, redistributed 3/13/24Applications of facial recognition technology (FRT) in health care settings have been developed to identify and monitor patients as well as to diagnose genetic, medical, and behavioral conditions. The use of FRT in health care suggests the importance of informed consent, data input and analysis quality, effective communication about incidental findings, and potential influence on patient-clinician relationships. Privacy and data protection are thought to present challenges for the use of FRT for health applications.

Providers push lawmakers to make telehealth provisions permanent McKnights Home Care, by Foster Stubbs; 3/11/24 More than 200 healthcare organizations including LeadingAge and the National Association for Home Care & Hospice recently signed a letter to congressional leadership urging the permanent adoption of telehealth provisions affecting Medicare beneficiaries. Current provisions, which are set to expire at the end of the year, allow beneficiaries to access telehealth services in their home. 

Nearly 53% of hospices undergo multiple audits simultaneouslyHospice News, by Jim Parker; 3/12/24Program integrity and an onslaught of audits are top of mind for many hospice providers in 2024. The nation’s four largest hospice industry organizations — LeadingAge, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) — in late 2023 conducted a 133-respondent provider survey focused on regulation. ... About 52.9% reported having multiple audits, each of a different type, within six months of one another, and 31% said they were required to submit the same charts for each of these audits.

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.'" 

Opportunity uncovered: How COVID-19 accelerated healthcare transformation Managed Healthcare Executive; by Patrick Horine, MHA; 3/6/24The COVID-19 pandemic left an indelible mark on the healthcare landscape, spotlighting critical areas for improvement while accelerating transformations that were already underway. From addressing disparities in equity and access to adopting digital health strategies, the pandemic has forced healthcare to move swiftly to meet urgent needs. First, let us look at some of the issues we had been facing and how these were changed by the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic. ...

US officials call on UnitedHealth to accelerate payments to providers The United Business Journal, by Rahul Kumar; 3/11/24In a recent open letter, officials from the U.S. government expressed urgency for UnitedHealth Group to expedite payments to healthcare providers. This plea came in the wake of a debilitating cyberattack on the insurer’s Change Healthcare tech unit, which severely disrupted medical claims processing and payments. The U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services emphasized the critical need for UnitedHealth to take swift action to ensure that healthcare providers do not face financial strain due to the cyberattack.

I have little time left. I hope my goodbye inspires you. The Washington Post, by Amy Ettinger; 3/9/24 This past summer, at age 49, I was diagnosed with a rare, incurable cancer called leiomyosarcoma. ... My symptoms were getting worse. I had swelling in my abdomen and legs that couldn’t be treated. After a while, I could no longer walk up the stairs of my house. I decided I wanted comfort, and this week I made the decision to transition to hospice. After choosing this path, I reflected on some of the things I was able to do since my diagnosis: ... People are often afraid when they hear the word “hospice,” but for me it’s been a positive experience. Editor's Note: Read and share this inspiring personal story about choosing hospice care. This is not about Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID), thus eliminating controversial perspectives.

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. 

Health systems invest in productivity Becker's Hospital Review, by Laura Dyrda; 3/6/24 Productivity is a buzzword for most workplaces today, and healthcare is no different. U.S. productivity measures showed big increases for the first time in years, according to a report in The New York Times, as organizations leverage artificial intelligence and aim to do more with less. For [health systems], many experiencing staffing shortages and tight margins, developing a culture of increased productivity is imperative.