Hospice Management Advisor articles from November 2008

Hospice Management Advisor archives from November 2008

Hurricane Ike slams Texas coast and tests hospice emergency plans.
November 1, 2008... Hurricane Ike slams Texas coast and tests hospice emergency plans Agencies pleased with response, but identified needed improvements Winds that exceeded 80 miles per hour, storm surges that covered major streets, and power outages that...

Lessons learned improve preparedness.
November 1, 2008... Lessons learned improve preparedness Needed: Generators, extra oxygen, walkie-talkies There is nothing like a real emergency to test and evaluate your hospice emergency preparedness plan. Although hospices and home care agency...

Electronic records great except during outages.
November 1, 2008... Electronic records great except during outages Keep good supply of paper forms at all times Laptops and other point of care documentation systems have greatly increased the efficiency of hospice clinicians. They no longer have to...

Long lines at gas pumps not limited to coastal areas.
November 1, 2008... Long lines at gas pumps not limited to coastal areas Staff alert managers to beginning of crisis Hospice staff members in areas directly affected by hurricanes Gustav and Ike knew to prepare for gasoline shortages or inability to...

End-of-life discussions with physicians have benefits.
November 1, 2008... End-of-life discussions with physicians have benefits Hospice enrollment is sooner According to a recent study,1 terminally ill patients who had end-of-life discussions with physicians had earlier hospice enrollment (65.6% vs. 44.5%),...

Agencies struggle with plan of care.
November 1, 2008... Agencies struggle with plan of care Improved communication is a key Fifteen percent of Medicare home health agencies were cited for the same certification deficiency on three consecutive surveys, according to a report issued by the...

Face-to-face meetings improve communications.
November 1, 2008... Face-to-face meetings improve communications Keep meetings meaningful and short Case conferences can be an excellent way to improve communications between staff members and ensure that the plan of care is up to date. The challenge...

Improve relationship with physician office staff.
November 1, 2008... Improve relationship with physician office staff Ask for preferences before signatures All you need is a signature. The challenge is tracking down the physician, getting him or her to review your plan of care, and getting the document...

Hospice, home health drive more than UPS.
November 1, 2008... Hospice, home health drive more than UPS NAHC study evaluates amount of home care travel Nurses, therapists, home care aides, and others who serve elderly and disabled patients in their own homes drive nearly 5 billion miles each...

The Joint Commission places standards online.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... The Joint Commission places standards online The Joint Commission's revised standards, rationales and elements of performance for 2009 for home care, which includes hospice, now are available online at...

Criminal charges unlikely for prescribing opioids.
November 1, 2008... Criminal charges unlikely for prescribing opioids Criminal or administrative charges and sanctions for prescribing opioid analgesics are rare, according to a recent study.1 In addition, there appears to be little objective basis for...

NHPCO awards grants to hospice providers.
November 1, 2008... NHPCO awards grants to hospice providers The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) in Alexandria, VA, has received funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to launch a program improving access to quality...

Palliative care access varies widely.
November 1, 2008... Palliative care access varies widely Although more than half of the 50-bed or larger hospitals in the United States offer palliative care services to ease pain and suffering for seriously ill patients and their families, the availability...

Survey shows support for assisted suicide.
November 1, 2008... Survey shows support for assisted suicide According to a national survey of adults by ELDR magazine and ELDR.com on the issue of physician-assisted suicide, more than 80% of those responding said they believe that the choice to end one's...