Hospice Management Advisor Archives – December 1, 2009
December 1, 2009
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Community, financial support help palliative care programs grow
This is the first part of a two-part series about best practices in palliative care programs. -
No benchmarks exist? Create your own
Although there are no rules or regulations for palliative care programs that require the collection of visit data, the staff at Four Seasons, a hospice and palliative care agency in Flat Rock, NC, collect information on everything from pain scores to clinical information to progress notes. -
Advance directives important for dementia
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that patients have a right to palliative care to alleviate pain and suffering. But what if the patient is afflicted with Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia and is unable to communicate whether he or she is experiencing pain? -
If proxies understand, interventions less likely
A study just published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) found that patients with advanced dementia frequently have pneumonia, febrile episodes, and eating problems. -
Preferred care less likely for black cancer patients
A new study of racial disparities in end-of- life (EOL) care revealed that black cancer patients' treatment preferences were less likely to be observed than were white patients' preferences, according to researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. -
U.S. patients 4 times more likely to spend end in ICU
Patients who die in the hospital in the United States are almost five times more likely to have spent part of their last hospital stay in the ICU than patients in England. What's more, over the age of 85, ICU usage among terminal patients is eight times higher in the United States than in England, according to new research from Columbia University that compared the two countries' use of intensive care services during final hospitalizations. -
Manage pain - Small acts offer significant results
The focus of palliative care is placed on the "caring" and not the "curing" of an individual facing a life-limiting illness. -
Conferences, seminars offered on demand
Time and budget pressures can sometimes make attending conferences difficult. To ease these pressures while still providing valuable information and teaching to health care professionals, Joint Commission Resources (JCR) now offers conferences and seminars via live video streaming as well as on demand over the Internet. -
CMS addresses oxygen equipment
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued instructions to contractors regarding processing of claims for replacement oxygen equipment in situations in which the equipment is considered lost because a supplier files for Chapter 7 or 11 bankruptcy and is unable to continue furnishing oxygen and oxygen equipment. -
CMS updates hospice statistics
The average length of stay for hospice patients has increased from 48 days in 1998 to 71 days in 2008, a 48% increase, according to the latest hospice statistics released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).