Literature Review

A race against time: Cancer patient's touching keepsake for his familyBNN; 2/15/24When time was running out, 44-year-old cancer patient Yiu created a heartfelt keepsake for his family. With the help of an art therapist, he cast a realistic mold of his intertwined hands with his wife's symbolizing their love and unity. This touching story highlights the power of love and hope in the face of adversity.

This hospice volunteer program is transforming end-of-life care for inmates in MaineYouTube - News Center Maine, video news; 2/16/24The prisoner hospice volunteer program started in 2001 as a partnership among the Maine Hospice Council, Maine State Prison, and Maine Department of Corrections.

Bristol Hospice’s quest to help patients sleepHospice News, by Jim Parker; 2/14/24Salt Lake City-based Bristol Hospice has developed a branded program designed to help their patients get better sleep, which can significantly impact quality of life.

Understanding the discordance about prognosis between clinicians and terminally ill patients and their surrogatesThe ASCO Post, by Jo Cavallo; 2/14/24A Conversation with Douglas B. White, MD, MASResearch shows that about half of adults near the end of life in the United States are too ill to participate in decisions about whether to accept life-prolonging treatment, requiring family members and other proxies to serve as surrogate decision-makers for their critically ill loved ones. However, research also shows that surrogates of patients with advanced illness often have optimistic expectations about prognosis, which often lead to the increased use of invasive treatment (including life support) in dying patients and delays in the integration of palliative care.

Hospice nursing a ‘privilege and honour’, says chief nurseNursing Times, by Edd Church; 2/13/24The chief nurse of a children's hospice is seeking to challenge perceptions of the specialty and encourage more nurses into it.

Large study ties OCD to greater risk of death from any causeJAMA, by Emily Harris; 2/7/24Previous research on the mortality risk of people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has shown mixed results and hasn’t gone into specific causes of death. Now, results from a large cohort study published in The BMJ suggests they have an 82% higher risk of dying from all causes.

Highest-paying cities for nurses in every stateBecker's Clinical Leadership, by Mariah Taylor; 2/6/24Here is the top metro area in every state with the median annual wage for nurses. [Highest paying cities include:]

Exploring the relationship between hospice care and end-of-life doulasPhaneuf Funeral Homes & Crematorium; 2/7/24Highlighting the collaborative nature of this relationship, [Lee] Webster pointed out, “Doulas are not out to steal [healthcare professionals’] jobs, but are another set of tools in the tool chest.” The supportive role of doulas can enhance the comprehensive care provided by hospice teams. “People everywhere involved with the doula movement are struggling with this [integration],” Webster added.

Where things stand: a summary of pending federal cannabis legislationReuters, Jean E. Smith-Gonnell and Cole White; 2/8/247Federal legislation pertaining to cannabis reform, once a political oddity, now commands significant resources and attention in Congress. With numerous bills under consideration, the landscape is both dynamic and complex. ... In this overview, we aim to provide clarity amidst the legislative maze and get to the root of the most significant cannabis legislation introduced in 2023. 

Children to have a place to grieve: Shepherd’s Cove Hospice plans musical-themed activity garden at Albertville facility Sand Mountain - The Reporter, by Mary Bailey; 2/6/24Shepherd’s Cove Hospice is in the beginning stages of building a space where children can grieve and cope with loss on site at their facility. The “Shepherd’s Cove Activity Garden” will be a place where children will be able to run, play and continue to be children while dealing with their emotions.

How PBM legislation would transform the industryModern Healthcare, by Lauren Berryman; 1/24/24The pharmacy benefit manager industry could look a lot different soon if Congress follows through with bipartisan efforts to pass bills governing the sector. PBMs such as CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx would face new transparency requirements that would give health insurance companies, employers, customers and regulators new insights into how they negotiate prices for prescription medicines—and how much of the savings they generate find their way to patients and plan sponsors. Pending legislation also would prohibit lucrative practices such as spread pricing.

Transforming value-based dementia care—Implications for the GUIDE ModelJAMA Intern. Med; by Tarun Ramesh; Kushal Kadakia, MS; Lidia Moura, MD, MPH, PhD; 2/5/24Dementia disproportionately affects older adults and represents an increasingly difficult population health and financial challenge for Medicare. Annual spending for Medicare beneficiaries with dementia is approximately 3 times higher than that for patients without dementia, with excess costs attributable to substantial fragmentation across the care journey. Patients with dementia experience polypharmacy and frequent hospitalizations and require careful coordination across multiple specialty health care professionals with support from unpaid caregivers. However, traditional fee-for-service (FFS) payment models may not adequately support costly medical and social needs for patients with dementia and their unpaid caregivers.Editor's Note: Full access requires subscription or other online library access to JAMA.

The last leaf on the vine: What is lost when a generation passes away Inside Higher Ed, by Steven Mintz; 2/6/24... For my extended family, my mother is (or was, depending on when you read this piece) the last leaf on the vine, the last surviving member of a generation born in the 1920s that personally recalls the hardships of the Great Depression and the disruptions, upheavals, sacrifices and horrors of World War II. And that leaf is poised to fall.