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Although implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) improve survival in patients at risk for recurrent, sustained ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, the device can add to a patient's discomfort at the end of life.
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Bilingual staff, cultural diversity education, and community presentations designed for specific populations are efforts that hospices throughout the country have implemented to increase access and improve care to hospice patients of all backgrounds.
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All of the accountable care principles that are integrated into the Affordable Care Act (ACA) require a clinical approach to the sickest, most complex, and costliest patients, says Diane E. Meier, MD, FACP, director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, because they all begin to move the system away from the fee-for-service model.
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Understanding your own cultural beliefs and biases about pain is an important first step in accurately assessing a hospice patient's pain levels, says Mary Curry Narayan, MSN, RN, HHCNS-BC, a clinical education and transcultural nurse specialist and owner, Narayan Associates in Vienna, VA and author of "Culture's Effects on Pain Assessment and Management."
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A new scoring system that can more accurately predict the life expectancy of a patient with advanced cancer in terms of "days," "weeks," and "months" is described in an article published in BMJ.
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Palliative care was only recognized as a specialty 5 years ago by the American College of Graduate Medical Education. Because of its newness, those working in the specialty are still learning how to effectively collect data and make use of the information once they have collected it.
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The Circle of Life Award celebrates programs across the nation that has made great strides in palliative and end-of-life care. This is the 12th year for the Circle of Life Award.
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A program that sends geriatricians and nurse practitioners into the homes of high-risk, frail elderly patients has resulted in a 195% return on investment (ROI) for Fallon Community Health Plan in Worcester, MA.
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In recent months, Escherichia coli O104:H4 has infected more than 4,000 people and caused 880 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in Europe, with the majority of cases reported in Germany and with more recent outbreaks in France and Switzerland. Travelers should implement food hygiene precautions to prevent infection when visiting Europe.
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