Hospice of the Chesapeake Appoints New CMO Maryland-based Hospice of the Chesapeake recently named Dr. Marny Fetzer as its new chief medical officer. Fetzer is currently system medical director for palliative care and hospice services at Illinois-based Ascension Health. She will step into the role at Hospice of the Chesapeake in July, alongside seeking a […]
Links exist between state certificate of need (CON) laws and hospice quality outcomes, researchers recently found. Roughly 86% of all hospices nationwide provide services in states that do not have certificate of need (CON) regulations in place, according to research from the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. The remaining 14% of hospices in […]
Collaborations between palliative and primary care providers may be on the rise, a trend that could give way to competitive edges around referral streams. Many patients lack access to palliative care in part due to lagging reimbursement for these services. This is among the reasons driving more palliative care providers to join forces with primary […]
Hospice providers are growing increasingly concerned about how state laws related to transgender rights may impede access to their services among LGBTQ+ communities. A rash of states have recently passed legislation to ban the delivery of gender-affirming health care, including Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, among others. What’s happening in these states has caused mounting […]
Amid persistent workforce shortages, sign-on and employee referral bonuses, as well as enhanced benefits, are bearing the most fruit for hospice providers. Though many providers are reporting upward trends when it comes to recruitment and retention, some clinical and administrative vacancies remain pain points. Filling gaps in the hospice workforce has come with hefty financial […]
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently announced plans to launch a new audit that will focus on general inpatient hospice services. Longer general inpatient hospice stays and high-cost issues are reasons for the audit, dubbed the “Audit of Selected, High-Risk Medicare Hospice General Inpatient Services,” […]
Patient data protection and telehealth compliance are key pieces for hospices to bear in mind when navigating technology partnerships in a post-pandemic regulatory landscape. Hospices are facing regulatory concerns since the COVID-19 public health emergency ended (PHE) on May 11 that have centered around telehealth. Some telehealth flexibilities temporarily instituted during the PHE will linger […]
North Carolina-headquartered Novant Health has launched a new palliative care program to help improve quality of life for patients with heart failure. The health system is rolling out the new program in partnership with hospice and palliative care provider Lower Cape Fear LifeCare. The two nonprofit organizations developed it to expand access and care options […]
After nearly four years at the helm, Alive Hospice President and CEO Kimberly Goessele has decided to step down. Her departure closely follows an announcement that a rumored sale of the hospice would not take place. Goessele has led the Nashville-based nonprofit hospice since October 2019. During her tenure, the organization faced not only a […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) is seeking answers about hospice patients’ access to certain high-cost services. CMS included a series of requests for information (RFIs) in its proposed 2024 hospice payment rule. Among them were questions about patients’ utilization of complex care services including blood transfusions, chemotherapy, radiation or dialysis. The […]