In the December meeting of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), the MedPAC commissioners considered a draft recommendation that would reduce the fiscal year 2020 Medicare payment rate for hospice by two percent. In a press release, NHPCO President and CEO Edo Banach responds to the departure from recent years of MedPAC recommending a 0% […]
A WRAL Spotlight article addresses the importance of spiritual support during hospice care. The article notes that this support is important in: 1) Affirming that the individual’s life has had meaning and value. 2) Focusing on the importance of ensuring the patient dies an appropriate death. 3) Finding hope beyond the grave, such as finding […]
Forbes published “How to Choose Hospice Care” from Next Avenue contributor Liz Seegert. The story is part of a special report from The John A. Hartford Foundation. Seegert describes the roles of home hospice, hospital-based care, and stand-alone facilities. It also provides patients and families questions to consider including: Is the hospice Medicare certified? Is […]
“This is the beauty of my life,” Oprah Winfrey says, reflecting on her mother’s death. “There’s not a thing that happens to me, that I don’t look at it as a teaching, learning, experience.” She’d gotten a call from her sister Patricia, who thought her mother, Vernita Lee, was near the end of her life. […]
Death with dignity has wide public support, according to a Gallup poll, which found that 73% of Americans supported medical aid, as long as it is painless. Today, six states allow the practice under different names, but Next Avenue reports that patient experiences “run the gamut.” Dr. Jamie Wells, a medical ethicist and a director […]
In his career, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel has spearheaded the Affordable Care Act and the opposition to the legalization of euthanasia. In an interview with the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging published with Next Avenue, Dr. Emanuel lays out an urgent need to improve quality of life, and explains why he thinks we’re […]
New Mexico 54th Legislative Session The New Mexican Legislative Session begins January 15 and ends March 16, 2019. Legislation may be pre-filed from December 17, 2018 to January 11, 2019. Texas 86th Legislative Session The Texas Legislative Session (86th) begins January 8, 2019 and ends May 27, 2018. Pre-filing has begun. […]
Morphine Dose Limitations for Traditional Medicaid to Decrease in January, Provider Letter- Providing Access to Electronic Health Records, Advanced Certified Nurse Aide Academy, Coming Soon – PASRR in the Nursing Facility
Palmetto had scheduled a series of Medical Review Hot Topic Targeted Probe and Educate (TPE) Teleconferences in 2019. These calls are open to all providers. Subject Matter Experts will discuss and answer your questions concerning current TPE process.
What if psychedelics could revolutionize the way you die?
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is in the unique position to support increased education for hospice and palliative caregivers throughout Washington, by moving the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA) forward in the Senate
The Journal of Pain and Symptom Management published “Hospice Underutilization in the U.S.: The Misalignment of Regulatory Policy and Clinical Reality.”
stories of the lived experience of handling a terminal diagnosis, focusing on what hospice and/or palliative care can do to allow the final days of a life to be peaceful and comfortable
When it comes to tissue donations, he asserts, “Tissue donation is a different matter. Tissues (e.g., skin, bone, heart valves, eyes, etc.) can be donated up to 24 hours following death, and the demand for tissues is also great.”
Clinical practice guidelines increasingly urge physicians to incorporate life expectancy into discussions about preventative care for older patients, and the study offers a window into patient sentiment in various scenarios.
This lack of hospice and palliative care services is felt by patients and families across the state.
The Hospice Item Set (HIS) Manual V2.01 is updated with refined guidance to clarify HIS coding instructions. Note: No updates were made to HIS items. Visit the HIS webpage for more information: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/Hospice-Quality-Reporting/Downloads/HIS_Manual_V201.pdf.
Requires health care practitioners, including advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), to access the Texas Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) prior to prescribing or dispensing opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, or carisoprodol. The bill further authorizes, but does not require, practitioners to access the PMP prior to prescribing or dispensing any controlled substance.
A new study in the Journal of Palliative Medicine describes survival and end-of-life palliative care requirements for individuals with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).