Hospice Management Advisor Archives – October 1, 2009
October 1, 2009
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Hospices facilities across country might face state-mandated flu vaccines
Hospice and other health care providers were not given much notice when the New York Department of Health adopted an emergency regulation in mid-August requiring all health care providers who have direct patient contact to receive a flu vaccination by Nov. 30. -
All hospices can learn from NY agencies
Pay close attention to New York as health care organizations there put processes in place to meet the new state regulation that mandates flu vaccinations for all patient-contact employees. The reason? Mandated flu vaccinations might be coming to your state next. -
Television documentary tells end-of-life story
This is the second of a two-part series that looks at different ways to reach and involve the community to increase awareness of hospice care. -
Film traces end-of-life journey
Except for Six, the ambitious film project under-taken by the Hospice of Michigan Foundation Board, tells the stories of three hospice patients, their families, and their hospice providers. Although produced by the hospice, it is not a promotional film for the agency but is a documentary that shows the value of hospice care to audiences that have not experienced hospice care. -
The ethics of saying no to patients
The American Medical Association's (AMA's) policy in Opinion 2.035 on Futile Care clearly states: "Physicians are not ethically obligated to deliver care that, in their best professional judgment, will not have a reasonable chance of benefiting their patients. Patients should not be given treatments simply because they demand them... ." -
Should docs recommend to limit life support?
Multiple pulmonary and critical care professional societies recently have recommended that physicians should routinely provide recommendations to surrogate decision makers about whether to limit life support. However, there is a lack of empirical data on the perspective of surrogates. -
Researchers: Too many are diagnosed late with AIDS
Too many Americans with HIV infection continue to be tested late in their disease, despite decades of HIV awareness, prevention, and testing campaigns and efforts. -
Palliative care helps advanced cancer patients
Patients with advanced cancer who received a palliative care intervention... reported improved quality of life and mood but did not experience a significant change in the number of days in the hospital or the severity of their symptoms compared to patients who received usual care, according to a study in The Journal of the American Medical Association. -
Too many ways to say 'it hurts'
There are at least 100 ways to say, "It hurts!" And that is the problem. -
Joint Commission publishes new applicability grids
The Joint Commission has published corrected service applicability grids for home care services on its website. Incorrect service applicability grids were included in the 2009 Update 1 for the Comprehensive Accreditation Manual for Home Care (CAMHC), published in June.