Literature Review

As ‘right to die’ gains more acceptance, a scholar of Catholicism explains the position of the Catholic Church The Conversation; by Mathew Schmalz; 3/31/25 An individual’s “right to die” is becoming more accepted across the globe. ... Assisted suicide is now permitted in 10 U.S. states and in Washington. In 2025,five more states are set to consider “right to die” legislation. The “right to die” can refer to several means of dying. ... [Descriptions of terms "right to die," "euthanasia," "assisted suicide/dying."] ...

The marginalizing and dehumanizing of our sickest and oldest Americans ABA - The American Bar Association; by Charles P. Sabatino; 3/19/25 Being old and with a disability ranks high as a target for discrimination in American culture, where ageism and ableism often prevent the public from seeing marginalization as an aberration. ... Summary:

Santa Maria investment advisor pleads guilty to defrauding elderly clients out of more than $2 million Office of Inspector General - Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Los Angeles, CA; 3/4/25A Santa Barbara County investment advisor pleaded guilty today to stealing approximately $2.25 million from elderly clients of her investment advisory business – some of whom were receiving end-of-life care.  Julie Anne Darrah, 52, of Santa Maria, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. She remains free on $50,000 bond. ... During the scheme, Darrah stole approximately $2.25 million from her firm’s clients. She did so by obtaining control of her victims’ assets, and then – without the victims’ knowledge or consent – she liquidated their security holdings and transferred the proceeds to accounts she controlled. ... 

Patient put in hospice at 52 celebrates life years after admission, thanks to heart surgery KCTV-5, Kansas City, MO; by Morgan Riddell; 2/27/25 A local man with heart failure who was told numerous times he only had months to live now has a new outlook on life two years later. ... It started in 2023. Sam Edwards, who was diagnosed with ALS after serving in the military, started experiencing new pains. He went to doctors who all determined Sam was just experiencing issues related to ALS. Then, a doctor at the VA Hospital noticed some tests were off and found Sam was experiencing heart failure. What he needed was open heart surgery, but doctors determined the risk of putting Sam on the operation table was too high. Not only was he at risk of having a stroke and dying on the operating table, but his recovery would also be months long and painful. They declined to do the surgery at the VA and suggested Sam go get a second opinion. This is when he was connected with Dr. Michael Gibson.Editor's note: While we in the palliative and hospice field promote earlier admissions to care and elimination of overtreatment, another side of the coin exists. Click on the title's link to read more about this hospice patient who sought out a second opinion. Imagine: the hospice patient is you (at age 52); or a family member; or a best friend. Especially as AI becomes more prevalent in assessing palliative and hospice referrals, we must see the bigger picture and retain human element. 

Daughter indicted for killing mother with morphine in Evans The Augusta Press, Augusta, GA; by Greg Rickabaugh; 2/25/25The daughter of a woman who died in an Evans assisted living home from a fatal dose of morphine has been indicted for malice murder. Rachel Elaine Waters, 41, is expected to surrender this week on murder charges in the death of 74-year-old Marsha Sprayberry Foster, according to Columbia County authorities.An indictment says that Waters administered a lethal dose of morphine on July 12, 2023, while her mother was at the Marshall Pines assisted living on North Belair Road. The cause of death was determined in an autopsy, showing that excessive use of the unprescribed morphine was the reason for her death. Foster had Alzheimer’s disease, and the morphine was reportedly left behind by hospice workers and used by the daughter without authorization.

As hospitalists’ role grows, so do the ethical dilemmas Medscape; by Donavyn Coffey; 2/17/25 Margot Eves, JD, clinical ethicist for Cleveland Clinic, was called in for an emergency consult: A man in his early 50s was asking doctors to take him off the ventilator. Just 24 hours before, the man with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) okayed the life-saving treatment. The hospitalist over his care expected him to come off the ventilator in a few days, but 24 hours was too soon. He wouldn’t survive. With head nods and in writing the patient signaled that he was fully aware — he understood this would end his life. Eves was called in to help weigh the options: Honor the patient’s wishes or help him survive. These kinds of ethical dilemmas have become common to the burgeoning hospitalist profession. ....

Hospice rationale should be reassessed, says ethicist Medscape; by Arthur L. Caplan, PhD, Medical Ethics at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine; 1/23/25 ... Decades ago, I first found out about the idea that came from England and a nurse, Cicely Saunders, to change the setting in which people die. ... I think that was a wonderful idea, and it has revolutionized end-of-life care. We have many excellent, superb hospice programs. ... The hospice institution is decades old, and it’s time to take another look at what’s going on there.  ... Private equity is all over this area, buying up hospice chains and home care hospice — looking to make big profits but not looking to maintain the quality requirements that ought to be there or to do more than is minimally required to set up and staff hospice. ... ... For reasons of serving the best interests of hospice patients, we should be rechecking the fairness of reimbursement, not overburdening families with care that ought to be provided by hospice programs, and making sure that those who are dying are monitored adequately and receiving checkups regularly. ...

North Augusta hospice nurse arrested after allegedly using fake prescriptions Aiken Standard, Aiken, SC; by Matthew Christian; 1/22/25 A North Augusta hospice nurse has been arrested after allegedly acquiring prescription drugs with fake prescriptions. South Carolina Bureau of Drug Control agents arrested Amy Elizabeth Strand, 44, on Jan. 17, according to an Aiken County Sheriff's Office booking report. Strand obtained lorazepam 2 mg tablets from the North Augusta Kroger on June 22, 2024, Agent B.A. Stafford said in a warrant. ... To get the pills, Strand called in a fake prescription in the name of a patient under her care, Stafford continued. ... Strand has been charged with three counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud. 

Santa Maria investment advisor pleads guilty to federal wire fraud chargeSannta Maria Times, Santa Maria, CA; by Dave Minsky; 1/2/25 A Santa Maria registered investment advisor pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge after admitting to stealing $2.25 million from mostly elderly clients who put her in charge of their assets, according to a plea agreement filed in Los Angeles federal court earlier this month. ... Federal officials alleged that [Julie] Darrah’s scheme ran from November 2016 until about July 2023 and involved at least 11 victims who were mostly elderly, including some who were receiving end-of-life care. ... Prosecutors alleged Darrah would gain control of her clients’ assets in several ways, including making her the trustee of their trusts, having the victims executing standing letters of authorization that gave Darrah control of their accounts, making Darrah a signatory on their accounts and giving Darrah power of attorney over their property.

PBMs secretly profited from opioid crisis: New York Times Becker's Hospital Review; by Alexandra Murphy; 12/17/24 Pharmacy benefit managers were paid by drugmakers, including Purdue Pharma, to keep opioid prescriptions flowing even as overdose deaths soared across the U.S., according to an investigation by The New York Times. The Dec. 17 report highlighted how Express Scripts, CVS Caremark and Optum Rx, which control access to medications for millions of Americans, negotiated deals with opioid manufacturers to prevent restrictions on painkiller prescriptions in exchange for lucrative rebates. Between 2003 and 2012, Purdue Pharma paid PBMs roughly $400 million annually to avoid limits on opioid prescriptions, which included measures that could have curtailed overprescribing, such as requiring additional physician justifications or limiting the number of pills dispensed. Internal documents reviewed by the Times show how the PBMs repeatedly collaborated with opioid manufacturers to influence insurers' decisions and block restrictions.

Convicted trio jailed for elder abuse Inland News Today, Riverside, CA; 12/18/24 A 7-year prison sentence has been meted out for the neglect and abuse of six severely disabled residents at an unlicensed Riverside care facility. Ronnel Tiburcio was convicted of six counts of elder abuse likely to produce great bodily harm. Earlier, co-defendants Joel Ombao and registered nurse Nimfa Molina were handed jail sentences. Ombao owned several hospice companies, including the unlicensed Secure Hands board and care facility where the victims were housed. Ombao, his assistant Tiburcio, and registered nurse Molina, were responsible for operating the facility and caring for the residents. When investigators first checked out the care facility, residents were being housed in squalor. Many of them were emaciated and dehydrated.

'Egregious' and 'insulting': 23 leaders slam Anthem BCBS' recently reversed anesthesia pay policy Becker's ASC Review; by Patsy Newitt; 12/9/24Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield has reversed its decision on a controversial anesthesia reimbursement policy update, which would have introduced a new reimbursement structure based on CMS physician work time values. Twenty-three anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists connected with Becker's to discuss their thoughts. [Click on the title's link to read these powerful responses.]

A healthcare system’s moral bankruptcy goes viral MedCity News; by Neal K. Shah; 12/5/24 Brian Thompson's murder was chilling, but the social media response of this tragedy was equally shocking, if eye-opening. It shows a massive collapse of public trust in our healthcare system, a system so broken that it bankrupts families, denies life-saving care, and treats death as an acceptable cost of doing business. When UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel ..., something chilling happened: thousands of Americans responded not with horror, but with dark jokes and scathing comments about the health insurance industry. People shared stories of being denied coverage by the company and drew parallels comparing the CEO’s death to the ways they’ve been mistreated by America’s healthcare system. ... The tragedy of Thompson’s death is compounded by a cruel irony: He was rushed to Mount Sinai  — a healthcare system whose hospitals UnitedHealth removed from its network only a few months ago, leaving thousands of patients scrambling. Even in death, he couldn’t escape the byzantine system his company helped create.