The American Oncology Network (AON), a group of 275 cancer care providers, recently partnered with the value-based oncology enabler Thyme Care to develop a scalable palliative care solution that could be integrated into their cancer care programs. The organizations published their results in the American Journal of Managed Care. The study was designed to evaluate […]

Advance care planning discussions in the emergency department can help increase documented goals-of-care conversations in patients’ medical records. However, this does not always increase patient-reported engagement, a recent clinical trial found. The randomized clinical trial included 141 patients at three participating emergency departments at two academic medical centers and one community hospital in Boston. The […]

Health care providers that are investing in palliative care need to have an effective business plan to support their efforts. The content of these business plans can vary based on setting, such as inpatient hospitals or community-based programs, according to Brynn Bowman, CEO of the Center for Advance Palliative Care. But key elements in both […]

Research conducted in the Netherlands found that a unique dementia advanced care planning model held benefits for families and health care providers but did not significantly increase goals-of-care documentation. The Desired Dementia Care Towards End of Life model (DEDICATED) is designed to enhance patients’ quality of life by improving palliative care knowledge, competencies and interdisciplinary […]

Similar to adults, many seriously ill children prefer to die in the home versus in facility-based care settings. But several barriers are preventing greater access to goal-concordant, community-based pediatric palliative care delivery. The challenges in some ways mirror issues among adult populations such as insufficient clinical resources, caregiver burden or lagging family support in the […]

States can adopt a specific framework to help scale palliative care via Medicaid, according to a recent study published in Health Affairs. Currently, the ability to scale palliative care nationally is limited by several obstacles. Among them are lack of awareness and workforce shortages. Another barrier is low reimbursement through Medicare that only covers physician […]

Some palliative care providers have fueled stronger referral efforts in skilled nursing facility settings as a way to reach patients sooner in their serious illness trajectories. Measuring the impacts of these efforts has come with various challenges. Timely identification of potential palliative needs in nursing homes is critical to supporting rising demand for serious illness […]

Gauging pediatric patient preferences can come with nuanced challenges as palliative care providers contend with a lack of consistent, standardized measures for these populations. Measurement of pediatric palliative care preferences is evolving compared to adult populations, said Dr. Toluwalasé Ajayi, director of pediatric palliative care and interim chief of palliative medicine at Rady Children’s Hospital-San […]

Potential referral partners and investors often see palliative care as a value-add for a hospice, home health agency or other provider. Palliative programs are difficult to manage as a standalone business due to the lack of a robust reimbursement model. Most palliative care programs are reimbursed through fee-for-service Medicare, which only covers physician or nurse […]

Clark County, Nevada is a crowded market for hospice providers, with 290 licensed hospice firms for 2.3 million residents. Add palliative care, and providers in the area have their work cut out when it comes to reaching referral partners and the public about the service. Keith Everett, CEO of ProCare Hospice, embraces the challenges, seeking […]