Literature Review

Glitzy Scottsdale couple jailed in $900M fraud Gilbert Sun News; by Tom Scanlon; 7/14/24 ... According to a federal indictment, “Alexandra Gehrke and Jeffrey King were charged for targeting elderly Medicare patients, many of whom were terminally ill in hospice care, for medically unnecessary wound grafts.” Gehrke – known to friends and associates as “Lexie” – and King allegedly filed $900 million in fraudulent claims, pocketing “$330 million in illegal kickbacks as a result of their fraudulent scheme.” According to the indictment, they were responsible for “allograft” bandages being applied frivolously to hundreds of patients, many of them dying. According to Gehrke’s LinkedIn profile, “APEX Medical is a national medical device distribution company. 

[Consumer Reports] The last goodbye: How to plan a funeral Consumer Reports; by Janet Siroto; 7/7/24 A complete guide to giving loved ones the right send-off--from traditional services to new green burials. Six years ago, Kelly Avery and Kristin Harper, sisters from Birmingham, Ala., gathered their families by the sky-blue ocean waters of Destin, Fla., to memorialize their mother, Barbara Harper. ... They shared funny stories and music, and shed some tears as they spread their mother’s ashes from the deck of a large boat.  ... The experience not only gave the family a meaningful way to pay tribute to Barbara but also got the sisters thinking about their own memorials. The key is making some choices well beforehand, which more people appear to be doing. For instance, according to an April 2024 Consumer Reports nationally representative survey (PDF) of 2,042 adults in the U.S., 50 percent said they planned or intended to plan ahead either for their own funeral or for someone else’s. Read on for a rundown of possibilities and costs. ...

DME Service Solutions joins the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) OpenPR - Worldwide Public Relations; Press release from DEM Service Solutions; 7/4/24DME Service Solutions, a provider of B2B outsourcing solutions specializing in healthcare, is pleased to announce its partnership with the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC). This partnership allows DME Service Solutions to engage with a community dedicated to advancing quality care and operational efficiency in the home care and hospice industry. NAHC represents the home care and hospice community, advocating for accessible and affordable care. By partnering with NAHC, DME Service Solutions connects with a network of professionals focused on effective home care solutions. This partnership provides access to the latest information and in-depth analysis of industry trends, which is essential for staying aligned with current industry needs. NAHC also offers educational programs that will help DME Service Solutions enhance staff expertise and continuously improve service quality.

The ‘Inter-AI’ Period: 7 key actions leaders should take now CEOWorld Magazine; by Nada R. Sanders, PhD; 6/20/24 Generative AI is not transient, part of a hype cycle, or a fleeting trend. It’s a game-changing innovation that’s opened the door to novel human-machine partnerships, AI-driven superintelligence, and a new way to win in business. In the AI timeline, we’ve entered “The Inter-AI Period,” a small window of opportunity where leaders can shape how they use AI now and in the future. This window of opportunity is short—perhaps a few years at most—after which decision processes embedded in AI will harden. ... By studying transformative AI leaders ... and conducting interviews with dozens of corporate CEOs, we’ve identified seven key actions every leader should take now:

Our Hospice collects food in employee-led drive The Republic; by Staff Reports; 6/20/24 Our Hospice (OHSCI) and Palliative Care collected 500 pounds of food for patients and families in need in an employee-led food drive. “The efforts, enthusiasm, and passion displayed by everyone at Our Hospice is truly astonishing!” said Chealsy Parr, a social worker who led the food drive. “Thanks to the participation of teammates from Greensburg, Columbus, the Hospice Center, Palliative Care, and North Vernon, we’ve significantly impacted those facing food insecurity.” “The employee – led food donations will go a long way to support those in our care who are in need,” said Steph Cain, president, Our Hospice and Palliative Care. [Located in Indiana] Editor's Note: Hospice leaders, how might you replicate this with your employees and volunteers, for the patients you serve? Forward this to the right person who can take this great initiative and make it happen.

Better manage privacy concerns related to AI in healthcare Fior Reports; by Becca Roberts; 6/17/24 Artificial intelligence technologies offer tremendous potential in healthcare, but it is critical for organizations to carefully consider the complex privacy concerns associated with different types of AI products and deployments, says Karen Habercoss, privacy officer at UChicago Medicine. “It’s critical to really understand what the use cases are and how we can minimize the amount of data we share to protect our patients, their privacy and their data,” she said. “I'm very much in favor of AI. I think it will bring about a fundamental change in the way we care for patients clinically in healthcare. Those are the very positive things that will come out of it. But with that comes a great responsibility to protect our patients from things they may not understand,” she said. 

Discharge for non-compliance?[Podcast] CHAPcast; 6/12/24Ever wondered why patients miss their medication schedules despite clear instructions? Our enlightening conversation with Dr. Kate Jones reveals the critical shift from simply labeling patients as "non-compliant" to understanding the complexities behind "patient adherence." Discover how patient-centered care and shared decision-making can transform healthcare outcomes and why addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) is paramount for effective and realistic care plans.

June is Adult Protection Awareness MonthKREX Grand Junction (CO); by Jessica Livingstone; 6/8/24June is Adult Protection Awareness Month, and Mesa County kicked this month off by tying purple ribbons around their campus to show their support for the victims. WesternSlopeNow talked to HopeWest about the resources they have to protect the community. If you’d like to know more information about HopeWest’s resources, you can call or click here.Publisher's Note: How is your hospice participating in Adult Protection Awareness Month?

Tillery becomes 1st in NC certified as age-friendly care at homeThe Stanly News & Press; 6/10/24Tillery Compassionate Care has been officially named an Age-Friendly Care at Home organization by Community Health Accreditation Partner, Inc., (CHAP). Tillery Compassionate Care is the first hospice in North Carolina to achieve Age-Friendly Care at Home certification. “The 4Ms framework [what matters, medication, mentation and mobility] is evidence-based care and addresses the unique needs of older adults which leads to higher quality of life,” said Teresa Harbour, chief operating officer with CHAP.

WorldView announces Referral AI, the most accurate referral classification platform to increase home health and hospice revenue Investors Observer; by PR Newswire; 6/10/24 WorldView , a leading provider of integrated healthcare technology to the top home health and hospice EHR/EMR platforms, today announced the upcoming launch of Referral AI, an enhancement to automate intake referrals using a custom AI/ML model built specific for the healthcare industry. ... Home health and hospice agencies receive many forms of electronic documents in their inbox, including referrals for new patient service. Referrals must be acted on quickly, but with documents being dozens of pages, they often sit unread or, worse, are missed or overlooked. Over time, the referral can become invalid, resulting in lost revenue for the agency and posing a risk of delayed service for patients.

Five arrested over 'sham hospices' alleged to bilk Medicare for over $15 million Los Angeles Times; by Emily Alpert Reyes; 6/8/24 Angeles over an alleged scheme to bilk the Medicare program of more than $15 million. The U.S. Department of Justice said three of the San Fernando Valley residents who were arrested — Petros Fichidzhyan, also known as Peter; Juan Carlos Esparza; and Karpis Srapyan, also known as Tony Levy — were accused of running "sham hospice companies" and turning in fraudulent claims to Medicare for hospice services. ... As part of the alleged scheme, the three defendants misappropriated the identifying information of doctors to claim those physicians had deemed hospice services necessary for patients, federal prosecutors said. They also allegedly used the names and Social Security numbers of Russian and Ukrainian citizens who had left the U.S. to open bank accounts and sign leases, indicating that the "impersonated identities" were the owners of the hospice companies that they in fact controlled, according to the federal indictment. 

Forcura and HealthRev Partners announce Ecosystem Partnership Business Wire; 6/4/24 Forcura, a healthcare workflow management company, announces a strategic ecosystem partnership with HealthRev Partners, a prominent provider of revenue cycle management services for the home health, hospice, and palliative care sectors. This collaboration focuses on enhancing the referral process for agencies operating in these critical healthcare segments. 

Empathetic AI: How Genai virtual agents will be leveraged Informa; by Josh Streets; 6/3/24 Imagine you're shopping online or in a store and have a question about a product. But you don’t want to find a store employee or call into their contact center to speak with a salesperson while you wait for answers. With a simple snapshot of a QR/UPC code on the product or a tap on your mobile device within an application, you're instantly connected to a virtual agent via video chat. This AI assistant not only understands your questions but can also pick up on your facial expressions and body language via your video discussion, to respond with empathy and some level of emotional intelligence. "I can see you're a bit frustrated," the virtual agent says with a warm, reassuring tone. "Let me walk you through the product details and address any concerns you might have."Editor's Note: This AI solution might be great for shopping, but is it ethical for hospice care, especially when the person calling might be elderly and assumes they are talking with a person? How would you feel, especially if you're calling when your loved is actively dying, or has just died moments before?