Literature Review

Michael Dowling: We've revolutionized care for aging adults, but is America's health system ready for the senior population boom? Becker's Hospital Review; by Michael J. Dowling, President and CEO, Northwell Health; 12/2/24 Like many baby boomers and those from earlier generations, I have vivid memories from my younger years of my grandparents and other aging adults struggling with an assortment of ailments that their doctors told them were just an inevitable part of growing old. ... The transformative advancements made over the past half-century in meeting the physical and emotional health needs of the nation's rapidly aging population are remarkable — and that's especially important because more Americans are turning age 65 now than in any other time in our history (4.1 million in 2024, or 11,200 a day). And as we move toward a new year, every healthcare executive must examine whether we are collectively prepared to care for them in the years and decades ahead and take steps to recruit the medical specialists we need to meet burgeoning demand. ... Lastly, all clinicians must embrace palliative care as part of their standard practice in managing the health of aging adults with serious illness. ... 

Seen Health invests $22m for PACE Care Centers HomeCare, Los Angeles, CA; by Seen Health; 11/26/24 Seen Health, a health care organization focusing on aging-in-place services and culturally-focused care models, announced it has invested $22 million in funding to expand access to its culturally-focused care centers for eligible seniors. The company said [its] first center is set to open in California and will be built upon the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) model. The PACE model aims to deliver comprehensive medical and social support for seniors with chronic conditions who are covered by Medicaid or Medicare. The care model intends to provide an alternative method of care to nursing homes by enabling seniors to stay in their homes and age in place. ... The first Seen Health center, which is set to open in Los Angeles County's San Gabriel Valley, intends to serve the local Asian and Pacific Islander community.

Ensuring equity in access to palliative care AJMC - The American Journal of Managed Care; by Laura Joszt, MA and Alexandra Gerlach; 11/28/24 Palliative care provides high-quality care that can provide relief from the symptoms of a serious illness, but just as there are issues to accessing cancer treatments, there are barriers to palliative care, as well as racial disparities in access, explained Nadine J. Barrett, PhD, MA, MS, FACCC, senior associate dean for community engagement and equity in research, Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Atrium Health, and current president of the Association of Cancer Care Centers (ACCC). ... There are misconceptions about what palliative care is that may limit the utilization of it, but also existing disparities mean fewer Black and Hispanic individuals access these services compared with their White counterparts.

Goals of surgical interventions in youths receiving palliative careJAMA Network Open; Danielle I. Ellis, MD, MTS; Li Chen, MS; Samara Gordon Wexler, BA; Madeline Avery, MPH; Tommy D. Kim, MD; Amy J. Kaplan, BS; Emanuele Mazzola, PhD; Cassandra Kelleher, MD; Joanne Wolfe, MD, MPH; 11/24In this cohort study of 197 youths receiving palliative care, interventions were performed with goals of helping youths feel better and live longer and for the purposes of diagnosis, cure and repair, and assistive technology more so than for symptom support or as a temporizing measure. Youths with more acute illnesses underwent the most curative and repair interventions (particularly in the early postdiagnosis period), whereas those with more chronic illnesses underwent most of the supportive interventions. These findings suggest that conversations using the proposed framework concerning goals and purposes of surgical intervention may facilitate goal-concordant, high-quality care for youths with serious illness.

Disclosure practices in Muslim patients and the impact on end-of-life care: A narrative review American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care; by Mona Tereen; 11/26/24 ... Non-disclosure practices hold significant weight in end-of-life care for Muslim communities, where cultural and religious beliefs are deeply intertwined with healthcare decision-making. This narrative review explores the complexities of medical decision-making and disclosure practices among terminally ill Muslim patients, examining how these factors shape palliative care delivery. Conclusion: Non-disclosure practices present significant barriers to effective palliative care in Muslim communities. To improve care outcomes, culturally competent communication strategies and family-centered decision-making models are crucial.

Valley Health and Hospice of the Panhandle collaborate to expand hospice care Global Data; 11/26/24 Valley Health has partnered with Hospice of the Panhandle to launch a hospice care programme within its hospitals, War Memorial Hospital (WarMH) in Berkeley Springs and Hampshire Memorial Hospital (HMH) in Romney, West Virginia, US. An agreement, effective from 1 November, integrates Hospice of the Panhandle with the hospitals' existing care teams, aiming to enhance the quality and accessibility of end-of-life care for eligible patients and their families.  The Hospice in the Hospital programme, which began in 2020 at Winchester Medical Centre, has now extended to all Valley Health hospitals in Virginia and, with this recent development, to West Virginia. HMH and WarMH operations vice president Heather Sigel said: “We are extremely thankful to the Hospice of the Panhandle team for partnering with us to offer Hospice in the Hospital at both War Memorial and Hampshire Memorial. ..."

Hologram technology wows rural care patients Becker's ASC Review; by Francesca Mathewes; 11/25/24 Cancer patients in rural Tennessee are testing virtual visits from hologram health consultants, Fox 26 News reported Nov. 23. The technology allows healthcare providers, in this case a physician, to consult with patients via a lifelike hologram. Clay Jackson, MD, a palliative care specialist in Germantown, Tenn., said that the technology has expanded access to care in the rural area, where patients might otherwise have to travel more than 100 miles for in-person care. "Two words: blown away. My patients can't believe how great the technology is," said Dr. Jackson in the report. "They may be a one-car family, it may be patients for whom additional travel would cause additional pain or discomfort or stress, especially those who are undergoing active treatment for their cancer," he added. The device and AI-powered spatial computing platform cost $29,000. The technology has been used in the entertainment industry and in professional sports, but this marks the first time the technology has been used in health consultations.

Hospices have long road ahead on improving health equity Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 11/21/24 Prolific health disparities have driven hospices to implement various strategies to improve diversity, equity and inclusion among underserved patient populations. Some providers say the needle has much farther to go toward equitable access. End-of-life care models have increasingly diversified to reach a broader range of patients with different beliefs, values and spiritual outlooks, according to Altonia Garrett, COO of Blue Ridge Hospice. Garrett is also executive director of the Virginia-based hospice’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee. Yet, hospice providers lack a full scope of understanding around the nuanced challenges impeding utilization and the ways to more effectively address unmet patient needs, Garrett said.  

[Australia] Components of home-based palliative and supportive care for adults with heart failure: A scoping reviewPalliative Medicine; Madhurangi Perera, Ureni Halahakone, Sameera Senanayake, Sanjeewa Kularatna, William Parsonage, Patsy Yates, Gursharan K. Singh; 10/24Palliative care and supportive care provided in the home for people with heart failure can improve quality of life, caregiver wellbeing and reduce healthcare costs. Ensuring patient and caregiver-centred care supported by a multidisciplinary team is essential to delivering home-based palliative and supportive care for people with heart failure. Further research focussed on the role of digital interventions in home-based palliative and supportive care, the composition of the multidisciplinary team and research which includes individuals across all stages of heart failure is needed.

Q&A: Prioritizing health equity with Emory Healthcare’s Chief Transformation Office CDW Healthcare - Patient-Centered Care; by Teta Alim; 11/19/24 Most healthcare organizations regularly prioritize goals to improve the patient experience and increase clinician satisfaction, aligning with the Quintuple Aim. Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare created the role of chief transformation officer to focus on these areas, and in July 2023, Dr. Amaka Eneanya became the first to fill the role. ... What would you say were the top three lessons you learned during the first year in your new role? ENEANYA: It's been a great year. For lesson one, as someone coming from a different part of the U.S., ingraining yourself and getting to know the people and the culture of the organization that you’re in, that’s important to determine the change readiness of an organization. ... The second lesson is that change is exciting. There's a lot of trepidation with change, and part of being effective with change management and transformation is really garnering excitement. ... The third lesson that continues to be pervasive in my career is that health equity is poorly understood. ... You have to start with the basic foundation and concepts of health equity before you can make initiatives, otherwise people won't understand what you're doing, and they might have a visceral response to what you're doing because of the misinformation around health equity. 

Lower Cape Fear LifeCare launches palliative care clinicHospice News; by Jim Parker; 11/19/2024 Lower Cape Fear LifeCare has opened the first free-standing palliative medicine clinic in southeastern North Carolina. The LifeCare Center for Palliative Medicine will provide outpatient palliative care to patients experiencing serious illness. The clinic will serve patients from the Novant Health system, including its Zimmer Cancer Institute and physician clinics. It will also accept referrals from other physicians in the community.

Hospice of Northwest Ohio will operate ProMedica's palliative care services CBS WTOL 11, Toledo, OH; by Karmann Ludwig; 11/18/24 Hospice of Northwest Ohio will operate ProMedica's palliative care services at the start of next year, according to a press release from Hospice released Monday. The company said ProMedica's patients who remain in palliative care will be transferred to Sincera Supportive Care and Symptom Relief, one of Hospice of Northwest Ohio's services. Sincera will also take over responsibility for ProMedica's palliative care outpatient clinics, Hospice of Northwest Ohio said. 

New report for 2024: Rural-urban disparities in health care in Medicare Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS); 11/14/24 Advancing Health Equity in Rural, Tribal, and Geographically Isolated Communities. FY2023 Year in Review, November 2023. From the Co-Chairs: ... This year’s annual report demonstrates CMS’ ongoing commitment to advancing health equity for individuals living and working across diverse geographies. These actions span a wide breadth of the agency’s authorities and roles, including regulation, payment, coverage, tools and publications, partner engagement, health system innovations, quality of care, and regional coordination. Across these actions, CMS maintains a focus on the goal of improving the lives of our enrollees and those who care for them. We eagerly anticipate our continued collaboration and partnership with all those CMS serves to advance health care in rural, tribal, and geographically isolated communities.