Hospice Management Advisor articles from October 2004

Hospice Management Advisor archives from October 2004

Controlling use of medications can cut costs and improve care: pharmacy consultants can help you think through drug policies.
October 1, 2004... Hospices too often find that no single health care professional is coordinating a dying patient's pharmaceutical needs, including both adequate pain treatment and drugs to alleviate other conditions and symptoms. Without some coordination,...

Education needed to improve use of pain drugs: teaching about methadone use is crucial.
October 1, 2004... Drug therapy for pain management and end-of-life care traditionally has not been a formal priority in medical education, so hospices often run into obstacles when trying to obtain the most effective and efficient pain medications, experts...

End-of-life coalitions forming nationwide: projects aim to improve quality of care.
October 1, 2004... Hospice directors and staff sometimes find that it's difficult to change a prevailing attitude about death and dying when that attitude involves an entire community. This is where the Rallying Points program, designed to build community...

Can't get no satisfaction? Communication is the key: here are a few tips from pros.(Special report: making the satisfaction grade)
October 1, 2004... (Editor's note: The September issue of Hospice Management Advisor included articles focusing on hospice client satisfaction. In this issue, hospice officials offer tips on how to improve client satisfaction.) Everyone who works in hospice...

Are you missing serious illness in older patients? Improve assessment of geriatric patients.
October 1, 2004... An elderly woman presents with a chief complaint of constipation, with few symptoms of acute abdomen. Would you suspect appendicitis in this patient? You may find a misleadingly benign physical assessment in older patients, despite the...

CMS proposes new patient choice requirements: hospital-specific rules to be extended to SNFs.(Guest Column)
October 1, 2004... As many providers already know, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) requires hospitals to share with each patient as part of the discharge planning process a list of available home health agencies (HHAs) that: * are Medicare-certified;...

Living wills called useless; power of attorney preferred: patients can't anticipate specifics.
October 1, 2004... Living wills don't work; furthermore, it's a waste of time to promote them to patients, according to researchers at the University of Michigan (UM) in Ann Arbor. (1) Even aside from what's best for patients, health care staffers who spend time...

Nurse supervisor accused of stealing pain meds.(News From the End of Life)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox has announced charges against a Howell, MI, nursing home nurse supervisor, accusing him of stealing prescription painkillers from hospice patients. Jeffrey Joseph Wolos, 32, of Swartz Creek, MI, was arraigned...