Hospice Management Advisor articles from December 2003

Hospice Management Advisor archives from December 2003

Schiavo case highlights need for advance planning education: use this opportunity to correct misconceptions about hospice.
December 1, 2003... Pinellas Park, FL, a suburban enclave nestled between Tampa Bay and the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, has become the epicenter of the debate over euthanasia. At the height of the drama that unfolded in October, protesters on both sides of...

What can hospice offer to PACE sites? Philosophies similar; opportunities may be limited.(Hospice Trends)
December 1, 2003... One of the more intriguing prospects for hospice's participation in a broader continuum of palliative or end-of-life care is collaboration with PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) sites. PACE is the federal program created...

Put yourself in MD's shoes before asking for referrals: develop concise message to describe your services.(Hospice Trends)
December 1, 2003... Will that new supply of coffee mugs, calendars, note pads, and pens engraved with your hospice's name and phone number make physicians or their nurses refer to you? Probably not, according to experts. "I don't need another coffee mug," says...

'Making it personal' improves patient care: personal histories increase patient satisfaction.(Hospice Trends)
December 1, 2003... Sheila Brune, RN, CPHQ, CPUR, says the quality of direct patient care is the most important predictor of patient satisfaction. In the past few years, Brune, CMC director of Utilization Management/Living History Program at Great River Medical...

New tool evaluates care options for seniors: Web site educates and empowers caregivers.(Hospice Trends)
December 1, 2003... Those who work with senior citizens have a new tool to help them advise their clients on appropriate care or living decisions. CarePlanner is a web site and on-line tool to help people make decisions about care for the elderly or disabled,...

CMS unveils cyber-help to assist providers.
December 1, 2003... Medicare officials are hoping a more effective web site will assist health care providers in getting the information they need to better serve beneficiaries. An expanded and improved site has been unveiled by officials at the Centers for...

Nursing group offers hospice grant.
December 1, 2003... The American Association of Critical Care Nursing (AACN) is offering a one-time grant titled "Initiating Hospice Care in Critical Care." The deadline for proposals is Feb. 15, 2004. The grant's purpose is studying end-of-life or palliative...

NHS spends 50M [pounds sterling] more on terminal cancer care.
December 1, 2003... Allocation of an additional 50 million [pounds sterling] across the United Kingdom to improve care for terminal cancer patients has been made by a national partnership group that included representatives from the National Health Service (NHS)...

CMS begins effort to stop wheelchair benefit abuse.
December 1, 2003... The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an initiative to curb abuse of the Medicare program by unscrupulous providers of power wheelchairs and other power mobility products who prey on Medicare beneficiaries. At the...

Agencies not prepared for HIPAA transaction rules.
December 1, 2003... As of May 2003, only 43% of home health agencies responding to the Alexandria, VA-based American Association for Homecare's (AAHomecare) 2003 Financial Performance Survey Report indicated they were in compliance for the Health Insurance...