Issues such as criminal background checks and credentialing and privileging are significant drivers of regulatory deficiencies among hospice providers, leading hospices to seek strategies to improve compliance. Inadequate vetting of staff was one of the most commonly occurring regulatory survey deficiencies discussed in recent reports from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office […]
Maryland-based Hospice of the Chesapeake in September will launch a new bereavement care program focused on the unique ways that men grieve. Men are less likely to express or discuss their grief following a loved one’s death, according to the 2010 book Grieving Beyond Gender: Understanding the Ways Men and Women Mourn, by K.J. Doka […]
Hospice utilization among stroke patients is on the rise as an increasing number choose to end their lives in their homes, according to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association-Neurology. More than 2 million people in the United States died as a result of cerebrovascular disease during the study period, which […]
Hospices are taking stock of their comprehensive patient assessment processes in the wake of two government reports on quality deficiencies that received widespread media coverage. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released the reports in July, indicating that more than 87% of the 4,563 hospices operating in […]
Las Vegas-based Nathan Adelson Hospice has developed a unique, value-based contracting model with United Healthcare to provide financially sustainable palliative care to Medicaid-enrolled patients to improve their quality of life and reduce hospital readmissions. Nearly 87% of the patients enrolled in the program suffer from cancer, though patients with congestive heart failure or chronic obstructive […]
Athens, Ga.-headquartered St. Mary’s Health System is expanding their hospital-based palliative care program outside of their walls and into patients’ homes in three Georgia counties. St. Mary’s has offered palliative care for its inpatients for a number of years. In 2010, the hospital installed two dedicated palliative care suites that include space for patient families. […]
Telemedicine is becoming increasingly important in hospice care for communities nationwide, but the technology, increasingly called “telehospice,” is making its biggest impact in rural areas where clinicians may have to travel significant distances to reach the patient. Telehospice isn’t new, but it is rapidly expanding. The University of Kansas Medical Center piloted the first telehospice […]
Lexington, Ky.-based hospice provider Bluegrass Care Navigators has developed an integrative medicine program to help manage patients’ symptoms, such as pain and anxiety. Integrative medicine combines conventional medical care with complementary treatments such as bodywork or art and music therapy. The organization’s board of directors recommended the new service offerings at their recent meeting. “We […]
Ongoing workforce shortages in the hospice space are expected to worsen, with Florida taking the biggest hit due to the size of its population older than 65. The number of hospice and palliative care physicians and members of other disciplines will drop precipitously during the next two decades, largely due to retirements and staff leaving […]
Submitting inadequate or incomplete required written documentation is a sure-fire way to bring surveyors or auditors to a hospice’s doorstep. As regulators increasingly fix their eyes on the hospice space, providers are stepping up their efforts to ensure their documentation is airtight. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) often treats issues such […]
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