Recent research has explored the various impacts of palliative care delivery on different patient populations. Collaboration is key to innovation and standardization, while palliative care patients increasingly value an interdisciplinary approach that includes sexual health. Palliative care improves cancer patients’ outcomes A recent study found that palliative care nursing interventions reduced distress and symptom burden […]
Studies have found common challenges and misunderstandings preventing better, more goal-concordant outcomes among certain patient populations. Meanwhile, researchers have found links to cannabis treatments and reduced agitation among individuals with dementia. End-of-life disparities among HIV patients A recent case study found that patients with HIV often face complex healthcare challenges that impact their end-of-life outcomes. […]
Many healthcare providers presume that a spouse will be a patient’s healthcare surrogate decision maker. However, new data show that this may not be the case. Research from the advance care planning company Koda Health found that women name an adult child as their primary medical decision maker 55% of the time, compared to 27% of men. […]
Family caregivers lack the resources and insight needed to better support a terminally ill loved one in a home care setting. The financial and emotional caregiving toll is negatively impacting families across the country. Financial pressure and isolation represent two of the most significant challenges for family caregivers, according to Lana Wilhelm, founder of CarePower […]
Hospice spending has seen a downward trend among participants in the Accountable Care Organization Realizing Equity, Access and Community Health (ACO REACH) payment model. Medicare spending has been “significantly reduced” by new ACO entrants over the last three years since the payment model’s launch, according to a new report by NORC at the University of […]
Recent research has found rising hospice utilization rates among certain patient populations. Other analyses have unveiled the growing unmet needs of clinical staff and family caregivers. Medicare Advantage Linked to Increased Hospice Access Medicare Advantage coverage has recently been linked to higher hospice utilization rates among patients with advanced cancer. Reimbursement trends may be a […]
Recent studies have examined the different outcomes and perceptions of hospice and palliative care delivery at national and global levels. Uncovered in the research was the potential improvement that could come with greater educational resources and awareness. Addressing clinical workforce shortages Community hospice and palliative medicine (CHPM) fellowship programs can help build up the clinical […]
A recent trove of research has examined the common trends fueling increasing palliative care disparities across the country. Various programs and technologies are emerging to move the needle toward improvement. Worldwide pediatric palliative care disparities Global gaps of care have been on the rise among pediatric palliative populations for the past three decades. Roughly 96% […]
Variances in state Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment Program (POLST) programs have impacted how patients in certain facility-based settings receive end-of-life support. POLST orders assist clinicians in facilitating decision-making processes at the end of life. Each state has its own policies, which are designed to help ensure that treatments align with patients’ stated preferences prior […]
Recent data have indicated that hospice and palliative care services have increasingly fallen in line with patients’ and physicians’ goals of care, though utilization is lagging behind preferences. Goals-of-care discrepancies Cancer patients face a greater likelihood of receiving discordant care that misaligns with their end-of-life goals, according to recent research. Cancer patients often report discrepancies […]
