Literature Review

The No. 1 problem still keeping hospital CEOs up at nightBecker's Hospital Review, by Kelly Gooch; 1/31/24... Here are the 10 most concerning issues hospital CEOs ranked in 2023, along with their average score on an 11-point scale of how pressing CEOs find each issue.

The case for palliative care in the ICU Hospice News, by Rachel Edwards; 1/31/24An intensive care unit (ICU) stay often challenges everyone involved. Integrating palliative care could alleviate some of the suffering through symptom management, improved communication about goals and treatment, and better training and resources for staff. As ICU admissions in the final year of life become increasingly common, the need for better holistic critical care is growing.

Worcester hospital nurses file complaints over 'dangerous conditions' MassLive.com, by Susannah Sudborough; 1/30/24Nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester have filed official complaints with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and other state agencies over “dangerous conditions” they say are jeopardizing patient safety, the state’s largest nurse’s union announced Tuesday. The complaints are based on over 500 reports made by nurses over the last six months that detail issues such as staffing deficiencies and poor allocation of technology, the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), which represents the nurses, said in a press release.

Viewpoint: Care fragmentation, care continuity, and care coordination—How they differ and why it mattersJAMA Intern Med., by Lisa M. Kern, MD, MPH; Julie P. W. Bynum, MD, MPH; Harold Alan Pincus, MD; 1/29/24Health care in the US is characterized by fragmentation, with many patients seeing multiple physicians. Indeed, 35% of Medicare beneficiaries saw 5 or more physicians in 2019.1 Having multiple physicians may be appropriate, but it may also lead to medical errors, unnecessary visits, avoidable hospitalizations, and suboptimal care if all of the physicians do not have complete information about the patient and each other’s care plans.

Your 2024 guide to Joint Commission changes - Becker's Hospital ReviewBecker's Hospital Review, by Ashleigh Hollowell; 1/26/24The Joint Commission is cutting more than 200 standards across its accreditation programs, many of which will take effect July 1. The organization initially announced its plans to scale back standards at this scale in July 2023, describing it as the "second tranche of major standards' reduction" following a first round of cuts in December 2022. ... [Among these], Home Care will receive a 15% reduction in performance elements.

'Sky is the limit' for health information networks' SNF insightsMcKnights Senior Living, by Kimberly Marselas; 1/24/24An expanding health information exchange connecting 71 hospitals and almost 600 post-acute providers in New Jersey is exceeding expectations and providing staffing insights not necessarily envisioned when state officials launched a patient discharge initiative.

New program to provide emergency funding to rural hospitalsCapitol Beat, by Dave Williams; 1/17/24A nonprofit health-care organization announced plans ... to help financially struggling rural hospitals in Georgia in danger of closing. Ohio-based CareSource will contribute $5 million in emergency funding to hospitals and hospital-owned nursing homes in rural communities suffering critical cash deficits. Working in partnership with Cumming-based HomeTown Health, which represents rural hospitals across Georgia, the CareSource Rural Access Advancement Program will provide bridge loans to be repaid and reinvested into the program once the recipient has stabilized. Since 2010, nine rural hospitals have closed in Georgia, third-most in the nation.

To tackle financial distress, hospitals, health systems are turning to mergersKFF Health News; 1/19/24Modern Healthcare looks into the phenomenon of rising health care mergers and acquisitions being driven by financial pressures on health providers in the aftermath of the pandemic. Separately, Stateline explains how private equity-backed hospitals can see cutbacks and closures.

15 most common reasons CMS cited a hospital in 2023Becker's Clinical Leadership, by Paige Twenter; 1/17/24Accreditation organizations, including The Joint Commission and DNV Healthcare, completed nearly 4,000 surveys in 2023. [Click on the article for a list of the top 15 citations.]

Study shows 'alarming' sharp increase of colon cancer in younger AmericansThe National Desk, by Jamel Valencia; 1/17/24Colorectal cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men and the second in women under the age of 50, according to the American Cancer Society's annual report on cancer facts and trends. It indicated that colon cancer moved up from being the fourth leading cause of cancer death in both younger men and women two decades ago to first in men and second in women. Breast cancer leads in women under 50 with 2,251 deaths in 2021.

Report adds to scrutiny of private equity-owned hospitalsModern Healthcare, by Mari Devereaux; 1/16/24Lifepoint Health and ScionHealth's ownership by Apollo Global Management is the focus of a report by a nonprofit formed to hold private equity buyers accountable for the impact their acquisitions have on services and communities.

Creative thinking needed to save rural hospitalsSouth Dakota Searchlight, by Tom Dean; 1/14/24Over the last 15 years, approximately 150 rural hospitals have closed nationwide. What does it mean? Are these facilities obsolete, no longer needed?  Maybe in a few places, but in the vast majority of communities they provide critically important services.