Hospice
Hospice or ‘All Care Possible’? Answer May Be Shaped by Race
The healthcare that patients with dementia recieve in the last 180 days of life may look substantially different when patients are grouped by race or ethnicity. The odds that patients have advance care planning, the proportion of those who opt to receive “all care possible,” and the likelihood of emergency department visits and receipt of […]
Read MoreDeath literacy: why it’s important to talk about dying
When it comes to talking about death, we have no shortage of euphemisms. This is perhaps most famously illustrated in Monty Python’s dead parrot sketch from 1971. A pet shop worker insists to a customer that his new parrot is “not dead but resting, stunned, pining for the fjords, kipping on his back, tired and […]
Read MoreHospices Develop Nurse Residencies to Stem Labor Pressures
As hospice providers contend with industry-wide nursing shortages, some are taking matters into their own hands with in-house residency programs. A lack of hospice-specific clinical training is a significant recruitment barrier. Few nursing students receive exposure to hospice or palliative care during their education, and most do not feel prepared to provide end-of-life care to […]
Read MoreHospice M&A Outpacing Other Sectors Despite Q1 Slump
Despite hitting a brief slump at this year’s start, hospice merger and acquisition activity still managed to outpace other health care sectors. Strong hospice and home health consolidation continued during the first quarter of 2022, according to a recent report from Provident Healthcare Partners. Both private equity firms and strategic investors remained “bullish” on home-based and hospice […]
Read MoreKeys to Hospice Employee Engagement
With longstanding labor shortages reaching unprecedented levels, hospices are getting creative on recruitment and retention. The factors contributing to this scarcity are multi-faceted. They include questions about employee compensation, burnout, work-life balance, reimbursement levels, and rising rates of retirement as hospice workers age with the rest of the population, among others. As part of their […]
Read MoreLimited Access to Post-Acute Care Fuels Readmission Rates
The availability of post-acute resources, including hospice and palliative care, has a significant impact on hospital readmissions, but greater coordination among providers could drive improvement. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) penalizes hospitals for readmissions rates that exceed certain thresholds, but the agency does not account for the supply of post-acute providers […]
Read MoreMedical scribes, EHR templates boost efficiency, satisfaction and care quality, report says
Medical scribes and EHR templates come out on top when compared to other EHR interface technologies and solutions, according to a June 25 paper published in Cureus. The researchers completed a literature review of the various new modalities in EHR interfaces, looking through the existing research for each interface and rating them qualitatively. Medical scribes and […]
Read MoreHospices Optimize Admissions Process to Boost Admissions, Length of Stay
Speedy hospice patient admissions can lead to improved referral numbers, profitability and length of stay, recent data show Yet, hospices need to carefully navigate their patient admission processes to maximize their revenue. Timely initiation of care is an important metric for hospices to measure and monitor, according to recent research from BerryDunn. Referral-to-admission times can impact both […]
Read MoreWhy Some Referred Patients Never Make It to Hospice
Hospice referrals appear to be going up. But many patients who get the referral never receive the care due to low health literacy and social determinant of health factors. Among patients who received inpatient discharge instructions indicating hospice, nearly 1 in 10 did not enroll within 30 days of leaving the hospital, according to recent research from […]
Read MoreIntegrative therapies enhance palliative care
Last week, Drs. Rebecca Burke and Victor Sierpina wrote on the differences between palliative and hospice care. I’d like to continue with theme by discussing common integrative therapies used in palliative care. The purpose of palliative care is to help improve the symptoms associated with a medical condition in addition to treatment for illness. There […]
Read MoreConsensus guidance targets patients with cancer-related pain, opioid use disorder
Researchers have outlined consensus-based management strategies to guide clinicians who care for patients with cancer-associated pain and opioid misuse or opioid use disorder. Findings of their qualitative study, published in JAMA Oncology, indicate a need for evidence, education and policy innovation to better serve these patients. Read more @ Healio
Read MorePalliative care improves quality of life for patients with ovarian cancer
Ann Marco, 73, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in late 2018, credits her oncology team for saving her life. They treated her with chemotherapy, debulking surgery, and more chemotherapy. But it is her second and current care team that helped restore Ms. Marco’s quality of life, directing her toward such resources as palliative care, […]
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