Literature Review

3 keys to hospice oversight preparation Hospice News; by Jack Silverstein; 6/4/24 When hospice providers are being investigated not just by CMS but the FBI, the stakes for compliance are higher than ever. In May of 2024, the federal law enforcement agency placed its spotlight on the rising number of complaints about hospice fraud, in which hospices participate in signing up seniors for care without the seniors’ knowledge. Integrity concerns are in four states: Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas. The mechanics vary but the end result is the same: hospices getting paid for services they either did not provide, provided at a substandard level or had no authority to provide at all. ...

Get to know us even before you need us[WV] The Journal; by Nikki Bigiarelli; 6/2/24Every day, we make decisions about how we want to live. What is most often not considered is how we want to live at the end of life. We can avoid a lot of uncertainty when we talk to those we love about our goals of care and end-of-life wishes before we encounter a serious illness.Publisher's Note: Helpful community outreach. Nikki Bigiarelli, CHPN, BSN, RN, is CEO of Hospice of the Panhandle.

Proposed HOPE tool seeks to fill hospice data gaps but needs tweaking, experts sayMcKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 6/3/24Although the proposed Hospice Outcome and Patient Evaluation (HOPE) tool intends to close important data gaps surrounding end-of-life care, there is more work to be done to improve hospice quality reporting. “So much more information needs to be gathered from these patients,” Katy Barnett, director of home care and hospice operations and policy at LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit aging services providers, which include hospices, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse in an interview. “It’s just not there in the tool right now.”

Oregon reviews UnitedHealth deal for Amedisys home health, hospice The Lund Report; by Nick Budnick; 6/4/24State officials are asking members of the public to weigh on the proposed acquisition of Amedisys — a hospice and home health and company that operates in Roseburg, Salem and Portland — by an increasingly controversial health care giant called UnitedHealth Group. Inc.  UnitedHealth operates Optum, a subsidiary whose takeover of a clinic chain in the Eugene area has sparked numerous complaints. The state recently approved the company's acquisition of  The Corvallis Clinic, an 11-clinic company operating in three counties. Now, it proposes to take over the Oregon offices of a Amedisys, a publicly traded firm, and the transaction has federal officials contemplating a lawsuit to block it. UnitedHealth and Optum are under increasing scrutiny for their market dominance and allegations of anticompetitive conduct.

Hospice groups to CMS: Don’t rush CAHPS changes Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 6/3/24Hospice industry organizations have voiced support for proposed updates to the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys, but raised questions on the implementation timeline. ... One key concern about the timeline is the need for vendors to develop updated electronic medical record (EMR) systems as well as methods of collecting the data, according to Katy Barnett, director of home care and hospice operations for LeadingAge. ... The proposed changes include:

Man killed elderly parents, partner and himself in murder-suicide at SW Miami-Dade home NBC 6 South Florida; by Laura Rodriguez; 6/3/24A man shot and killed his elderly parents and partner before turning the gun on himself in a murder-suicide at a home in southwest Miami-Dade Sunday, police and family members said. According to police, [Jesus] Regueira [Jr.] shot and killed his parents, 83-year-old Jesus Regueira Sr. and 84-year-old Mercedes Morato, 61-year-old Kyrsten Stahre, who police identified as his girlfriend but family members said was his wife, before turning the gun on himself. ... The bodies were first discovered by family friend Joanna Cruz, whose mother was bringing food to Morato, who was under hospice care. ... “I think the problem was his mom had a severe stroke and she was in hospice and his mom was his life. Because someone had said that he wasn’t handling it well. The mom was there, but she had hospice coming in. His mom was his favorite person in the world. I don't know about the dad but I just know that’s probably what happened," Carol Miloch said. Editor's Note: Workplace violence in healthcare settings continues to rise, and to be a leading cause for nurse unionization and strikes.

Normandy Welcomes World War II Heroes - 80th AnniversaryU.S. Department of Defense; 6/4/24World War II veterans met with cheers and applause from throngs of well-wishers as they arrived in Normandy, France, for events commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day. ... The number of these heroes at D-Day anniversary events in Normandy each year is diminishing, but the gratitude and awe for their service and sacrifice endures.We Honor Veterans - NHPCONHPCO; retrieved from the internet on 6/5/24We Honor Veterans empowers end-of-life care partners to meet the unique needs of America’s Veterans and their families. Our guidance and resources are focused on respectful inquiry, compassionate listening and grateful acknowledgment so that veterans can be guided through their life stories toward a more peaceful ending.Editor's Note: Thank you NHPCO for your foresight in developing this program! You identified the massive losses of our WWII generation of veterans (and more). You educated hospice organizations nation-wide and equipped us with meaningful resources, while we still had years of time to provide active support.

There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in. – Leonard Cohen

What health system CEOs need to tackle conflict, change Becker's Hospital Review; by Laura Dyrda; 5/31/24  Health system CEOs are leaving behind ego-driven, top down leadership in favor of a trusting and a supportive culture to guide their organizations and transform healthcare delivery. Change is hard, but necessary, to grow. "One of my greatest realizations is the importance of fostering a culture where every individual genuinely feels valued and supported," K. Craig Kent, MD, CEO of Charlottesville, VA.-based UVA Health and executive vice president of health affairs at the University of Virginia told Becker's. ... Change is happening on many fronts. More care is exiting the hospital to be delivered at outpatient sites, in the home and through virtual connections. Patients are more actively participating in decision-making about their care, and digital technology makes it possible to personalize care more than ever before. ...

LeadingAge: CMS on right track with high-acuity hospice RFIHospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/31/24 The senior care advocacy group LeadingAge has praised the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) inquiries into high-acuity palliative care, but expressed concern over reimbursement and staffing issues. The agency’s 2025 proposed hospice rule featured a series of requests for information (RFI) on issues like health equity, social determinants of health and future quality measures. The RFIs contain further questions about the utilization of higher-cost palliative treatments under the Medicare Hospice Benefit. The agency posed similar queries in its proposed rule for 2024. The new proposal seeks greater clarity on the financial risks and costs that providers say represent barriers to providing those services, such as palliative chemotherapy, radiation blood transfusions or dialysis, among others.

StateServ Rebrands to Dragonfly HealthPR Newswire; 6/3/24StateServ, a leading provider of benefit management solutions for durable medical equipment ("DME") and pharmaceuticals for the post-acute care market, announced today it has rebranded to Dragonfly Health. The new identity marks an inflection point for the Company, as it combines DME and pharmacy offerings, enabling a scalable, holistic care-at-home service platform driven by advanced technology and robust analytics. Through its comprehensive offering of equipment and medication solutions, Dragonfly Health seeks to improve quality of life and transform the care-at-home experience for caregivers, patients, and their families.

Empathetic AI: How Genai virtual agents will be leveraged Informa; by Josh Streets; 6/3/24 Imagine you're shopping online or in a store and have a question about a product. But you don’t want to find a store employee or call into their contact center to speak with a salesperson while you wait for answers. With a simple snapshot of a QR/UPC code on the product or a tap on your mobile device within an application, you're instantly connected to a virtual agent via video chat. This AI assistant not only understands your questions but can also pick up on your facial expressions and body language via your video discussion, to respond with empathy and some level of emotional intelligence. "I can see you're a bit frustrated," the virtual agent says with a warm, reassuring tone. "Let me walk you through the product details and address any concerns you might have."Editor's Note: This AI solution might be great for shopping, but is it ethical for hospice care, especially when the person calling might be elderly and assumes they are talking with a person? How would you feel, especially if you're calling when your loved is actively dying, or has just died moments before? 

Should all healthcare workers take the Hippocratic Oath? Becker's Hospital Review; Madeline Ashley; 5/29/24 As private equity expands across the healthcare industry and proper patient care is brought into question, Don Berwick, MD, a Harvard Medical School health policy lecturer in Boston and former CMS administrator during the Obama administration, called for an extended Hippocratic Oath for all who work in healthcare. During an April 3 senate hearing in Boston, titled, "When Health Care Becomes Wealth Care: How Corporate Greed Puts Patient Care and Health Workers at Risk," Dr. Berwick spoke passionately about how patient needs have been put on the backburner, but should be the No. 1 priority in healthcare.