Hospice Management Advisor Archives – November 1, 2009
November 1, 2009
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End-of-life discussions portrayed as first step toward death panels
"Stop the death panels" became a rallying cry for opponents of health care reform when one component of a bill was reimbursement for end-of-life planning discussions between physicians and patients. -
Document ensures directions are followed
The Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form has been in use in Oregon since 1995, four years after the initiative was begun in the state. Since 1995, some form of the POLST program has been adopted in more than 30 states. -
Program enables patients to make informed decisions
An innovative program that encourages physicians and other providers to facilitate the tough conversation about care at the end of life has resulted in 95% of the senior citizens in La Crosse, WI, having advance care directives that guide their care. -
Reduce risk with protocols, good hiring practices
Risk management in hospice presents challenges not faced by most health care providers, but there are steps that agencies can take to reduce risk and provide protection from lawsuits and costly claims. -
MRSA comes home with more patients
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is common in most hospitals, but a recent study shows that almost 13% of patient discharged from the hospital to home health care are infected with MRSA. -
Research finds 12% take MRSA home
A recent study shows that 12% of patients discharged from the hospital to home health care are infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). -
Protocols, equipment prevent spread of MRSA
Although standard precautions are taught to home health employees, the importance of precautions rises with the increasing number of patients coming to home care with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). -
The evolving policy on physician-assisted suicide
Calling it "a significant turning point in American society's evolution to empower terminally ill patients with information and choices about how they will die," an article by the director of legal affairs for Compassion & Choices points to four medical professional and health policy organizations that have adopted policy to support physician-assisted suicide.