Hospices Stepping Up Performance on Visits-in-Last-Days-of-Life Measure

Hospices, in aggregate, are showing improvement on the quality measure for visits in the last days of life. The number of registered nurse and social worker visits during a patient’s final week is one of the seven quality measures that CMS uses to evaluate providers. In Calendar Year 2021, the share of hospice care days […]

St. Croix Hospice Leverages Predictive Analytics to Boost Quality

St. Croix Hospice recently unveiled data showing how the company leveraged predictive analytics technology to improve quality outcomes. In 2019 the Minnesota-headquartered hospice provider began utilizing a predictive analytics tool from Medalogix. The post-acute data analytics company develops machine learning solutions designed to identify patients in need of home health, hospice or palliative care services […]

Predictive Analytics ‘Gives Hospices a Lens’ into Quality, Compliance

Hospices are leveraging predictive analytics to get a clearer picture of their performance amid regulatory pressures. Hospices have relied on data to enhances their ability to assess the quality and quantity of bedside care delivered during a patients’ final days. This includes two key quality measures: Hospice Visits in the Last Days of Life (HVLDL) […]

Aveanna CEO: Higher Wages Key to Bringing Clinicians Back

For the exhausted health care labor force — many of whom have left the industry — money talks. Aveanna Healthcare Holdings (NASDAQ: AVAH) recently conducted an analysis of workforce trends that suggested that higher compensation may be the most important consideration for prospective employees, particularly in light of rising inflation. “We’ve just finished a pretty […]

Amedisys: Clinical Capacity Essential to Growth

“Workforce optimization” is the watchword at Baton Rouge, La.-based Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED). The company seeks to build clinical capacity to support its long-term expansion, expecting to achieve growth at a higher rate than a projected 7% to 8% for the overall hospice market, according to President and COO Chris Gerard. With labor pressures the […]

Hospices Deploy AI for Swifter Clinical Decisions, Improved Compliance

Hospices in recent years have enlisted artificial intelligence in their quest to match the right patient to the right care at the appropriate time. As these systems continue to develop, some are finding potential benefits when it comes to regulatory compliance as well. Hospices that use AI systems often seek to predict when a patient […]

Vistria Group’s Loporcaro: ‘Elevate Hospice into Value-Based Care’

Former Landmark Health CEO Nick Loporcaro recently joined the Chicago-based private equity firm The Vistria Group as a senior operating partner. Vistria currently counts hospice provider Mission Healthcare in its portfolio. While Mission is Vistria’s only current hospice asset, the firm is a long-time investor in the hospice space. Late last year, Vistria sold Agape […]

Amedisys Could Bolster Hospice Staff Via connectRN Investment

Last month, connectRN announced it had raised $76 million, with the Series F round, led by Suvretta Capital Management and Avidity Partners, with other investors including Amedisys Inc. (Nasdaq: AMED). Amedisys did not disclose the size of its investment in connectRN, which has now raised more than $95 million since its 2014 founding. Along with […]

ELEVATE Talks: An Interview with Medalogix

This article is brought to you by Medalogix. The article is based on a live Q&A session with Elliott Wood, President & Chief Executive Officer of Medalogix, which took place at the Hospice News ELEVATE conference in Chicago held on October 21, 2021. The discussion has been edited for clarity. Hospice News: Welcome to our […]

Maxwell Healthcare CEO: Hospice EMR Interoperability is Coming

In a changing payment and regulatory environment, hospices are zeroing in on factors such as data collection, effective revenue cycle management and electronic medical record (EMR) interoperability. Providers that are leveraging technology to achieve these aims need to implement these systems carefully, including education for staff, according to Jennifer Maxwell, CEO and co-founder of Maxwell […]