Literature Review

‘You can become a husband again’ National Association of Federal Retirees (Canada); by Jennifer Campbell; 3/25/24When his wife got a much-needed bed in palliative care, a perceptive nurse told Brian Hills he could concentrate on being a husband again, instead of a caregiver. 

Digital avatars and personalized voices—How AI is helping to restore speech to patients JAMA Network, by Samantha Anderer and Yulin Hswen, ScD, MHP; 3/22/24 This conversation is part of a series of interviews in which JAMA Editor in Chief Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS, and expert guests explore issues surrounding the rapidly evolving intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and medicine.  As a specialist in advanced brain mapping methods, Edward Chang, MD, set out to understand the mechanisms that turn our thoughts into words. Now, with the help of AI, his team at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Weill Institute for Neurosciences has demonstrated that the brain signals associated with speech-related sensory and motor processes could grant a new voice to patients who have lost the ability to speak.

Nurse managers' 4-day workweeks: How it's going at Mount Sinai Becker's Clinical Leadership, by Mariah Taylor; updated 3/22/24In fall 2022, New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System launched its four-day workweek program for nurse managers. More than a year later, the program continues to improve staff engagement, satisfaction and has become an important retention strategy, Beth Oliver, DNP, RN, chief nurse executive for the system, told Becker's. Dr. Oliver added, experienced nurse managers play a critically vital role in supporting staff retention and engagement, championing organizational culture, and ensuring quality and safety of patient care.

Racial/ethnic differences in care intensity at the end of life for patients with lung cancer The ASCO Post, by Matthew Stenger; 3/21/24 The study used data from the California Cancer Registry linked to patient discharge data abstracts. The primary outcome measure was intensity of care in the last 14 days before death, with greater intensity defined as any hospital admission or emergency department visit, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, intubation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), hemodialysis, and death in an acute care setting. ... The authors concluded: “Compared with [non-Hispanic White] patients, [Asian/Pacific Islander], Black, and Hispanic patients who died with lung cancer experienced higher intensity of [end-of-life] care. Future studies should develop approaches to eliminate such racial and ethnic disparities in care delivery at the [end of life].”

AI scribe saves doctors an hour at the keyboard every dayAMA, by Andis Robeznieks; 3/18/24 When a health system rolls out new technology that it insists will make physicians’ lives easier, the announcement is typically met with skepticism. But the use of augmented intelligence (AI)—often called artificial intelligence—has changed that. The Permanente Medical Group’s rollout of ambient AI scribes to reduce documentation burdens has been deemed a success, saving most of the physicians using it an average of one hour a day at the keyboard. ... Refinement of the tool, however, is ongoing. ... For example, one physician mentioned scheduling a patient’s prostate exam, but the AI scribe recorded that the exam had been performed. 

8 likely next in-demand nursing roles, per Tampa General's chief nurse Becker's Clinical Leadership, by Laura Dyrda; 3/15/24 ... "In the next two to three years, the nursing team may require new roles and skills to adapt to the changing healthcare landscape," said Wendi Goodson-Celerin, DNP, APRN, senior vice president and chief nursing executive at Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital. Dr. Goodson-Celerin outlined potential roles and skills that may be in demand over the next two to three years:

Inside Jefferson's push to engage retired nurses Becker's Clinical Leadership, by Mariah Taylor; 3/21/24 Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health is keeping more retired nurses connected to the system through its Nurse Emeritus program. ... The program offers retirees an opportunity to reenter the workforce and provide guidance to new nurses and help nurses at the bedside. To participate, retired nurses must have an active New Jersey nursing license, work at least eight hours per month and have retired in the last three years. Nurse Emeritus participants work in an education-based role and do not perform hands-on clinical care or medication administration. 

Palliative care in the older adult with cancer and the role of the geriatrician: a narrative review Annals of Palliative Medicine, by Bibban Bant Deol, Lisa Binns-Emerick, MOhammad Kang, Pragnesh Patel; 3/15/24 online ahead of print Conclusions: Embedding primary care geriatrics in the palliative care arena helps to provide more access to this care. This integration helps providers address basic symptom management, advance care planning and work with individuals on goals of care to assure the care being provided is congruent individual's priorities. Older adults respond to symptoms different than their younger counterparts. Management of these symptoms has to be addressed in a manner commiserate with their age.

Bill to help health workers with burnout moves ahead in Congress Modern Healthcare, by Michael Mcauliff; 3/20/24 A bill designed to help counter depression, burnout and suicide among healthcare providers cleared a key hurdle Wednesday, passing unanimously out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Reauthorization Act of 2024 updates and extends for five years an earlier version of the law. It funds grants for healthcare organizations and associations to run programs aimed at improving workers' mental health amid staff shortages and ongoing fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Frailty needs to be a factor in drug development, proposed guidelines suggest McKnights Long-Term Care News, by Kristen Fischer; 3/20/24A new report on strategies for geriatric drug development and assessment determined that drugs need to consider age as well as other factors that older adults face such as cognitive impairment, frailty and polypharmacy. This is according to the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) Geriatric Committee, which published the report. The strategies specifically focused on integrating frailty as a factor in drug development. The report, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society earlier this month, includes 12 principles pertaining to frailty in reference to drug development. The recommendations include measuring frailty at the start of when a person goes on a drug they’ll likely take regularly.

Nurses practicing primarily in care homes ‘improve end-of-life care’ Nursing Times, by Steve Ford; 3/19/24 Nurses and other clinicians who specialise in working in care homes represent an important resource when it comes to improving the quality of end-of-life care for residents, a large US study suggests. Researchers found nurse practitioners working mostly in care homes may decrease the likelihood of residents experiencing stressful hospital admissions and improve the quality of life in their last days. 

Giving hospice patients a dignified end-of-life experience Steve Adubato On the Air, with Charles Vialotti, MD; 3/13/24On--location at Villa Marie Claire Residential Hospice, Steve Adubato is joined by medical director, Charles Vialotti, MD to talk about his personal commitment to hospice care and giving residents and their families a dignified end-of-life experience.

Creating a community-led telehealth approach for supportive cancer care mHealthIntelligence, by Anuja Vaidya; 3/18/24 Tennessee Oncology is joining forces with rural patients to explore strategies for expanding telehealth access to supportive cancer care services. ... The NEST program aims to expand access to palliative care, psychology, and integrative oncology and nutrition services among rural cancer patients in seven Middle Tennessee counties: Robertson, Dickson, Putnam, Dekalb, Warren, Bedford, and Coffee counties.