Hospice Management Advisor articles from May 2009

Hospice Management Advisor archives from May 2009

Hospice agencies provide more services than agencies mixed with home health.
May 1, 2009... Hospice agencies provide more services than agencies mixed with home health Transition from home health to hospice requires collaboration With both types of services focused on providing care to patients in their own homes, it makes...

List of services considered hospice.
May 1, 2009... List of services considered hospice In a comparison of hospice services offered by mixed and nonmixed agencies, authors Shayna E. Rich, MA, an MD/PhD candidate, and Ann L. Gruber-Baldini, PhD, an associate professor at Maryland School of...

Smooth transition from home health to hospice.
May 1, 2009... Smooth transition from home health to hospice Use team approach to address concerns On paper, transitioning a patient's care from the home health side of an agency to the hospice service of the same agency should be a smooth, easy to...

Music offers relief from anxiety and pain.
May 1, 2009... Music offers relief from anxiety and pain Therapy program reconnects patients, family The woman was young for dementia. In her late 50s and suffering from end-stage dementia, she was lethargic and uncommunicative. After talking...

Journal Reviews: Ped hospice expenditures affected by ethnicity.
May 1, 2009... Ped hospice expenditures affected by ethnicity Little research has been conducted about the use of pediatric hospice care, but a study published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine takes a look at who is using pediatric hospice and what...

Hospice cost fluctuates during length of service.
May 1, 2009... Hospice cost fluctuates during length of service Hospice care can improve symptom management and quality of life for patients, but intensity and cost of care varies from patient to patient, depending on the length of service, according to a...

Studies probe health care costs at the end of life.
May 1, 2009... Studies probe health care costs at the end of life Patients with advanced cancer who discuss end-of-life care with their physicians appear to have lower health care costs in the final week of life than those who do not, according to a...

Is fear the motivation for physician aid in dying?
May 1, 2009... Is fear the motivation for physician aid in dying? Individuals exploring physician aid in dying in Oregon appear to be motivated by worries about future pain and loss of autonomy rather than current symptoms, according to a report in the...

Do feeding tubes help in advanced dementia?
May 1, 2009... Do feeding tubes help in advanced dementia? Family members grappling with the decision to allow a feeding tube for a relative with advanced dementia will find little comfort from a new review of evidence. Poor food intake is common in...

Sensitivity training helps staff understand.
May 1, 2009... Sensitivity training helps staff understand Participants simulate vision and hearing loss Before they start their job managing the care of senior members, case managers at Senior Care Action Network (SCAN) Health Plan try to sort pills...

Book reports strategies for end-of-life care.
May 1, 2009... Book reports strategies for end-of-life care Waiting for Rick: A Caregiver's Dilemma, by Rick Duffy, uses the author's personal experience to reveal strategies and resources for better end-of-life caregiving. Three days after Duffy...

Know requirements for consolidated billing.
May 1, 2009... Know requirements for consolidated billing Providers might find the rules confusing with regards to consolidated billing (CB) under the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997. This might be particularly true when patients are discharged to...

FDA reverses decision on liquid morphine.
May 1, 2009... FDA reverses decision on liquid morphine In a surprising move, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended a March 30, 2009, action warning manufacturers to stop producing and distributing certain unapproved prescription opioids,...