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Judaism is practiced in many diverse ways in the United States, yet sometimes even non-practicing Jews still observe Jewish laws at the end of life, suggests Barry Kinzbrunner, MD, chief medical officer for VITAS Innovative Hospice Care in Miami.
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In a welcome move, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a three-month suspension in enforcement of the hospice and home health face-to-face recertification requirements that were in effect on Jan. 1, 2011. The suspension followed a meeting between National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's (NHPCO) leadership and CMS officials.
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When Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City began looking at implementing palliative care and end-of-life services, the case management department was the appropriate place to start, says Anita Bell, RN, MEd CHPN, palliative care coordinator at the 508-bed facility.
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As the nation's population ages, a growing number of registered nurses, certified nursing assistants, and nurses' aides will be working in patients' homes rather than in hospitals. But many of them will be working without the basic safety devices that most nurses now take for granted, safety experts say.
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Completing advance directives should not be seen as a legal task. While there is a legal component to the document, it is primarily a communication task, says Charlie Sabatino, JD, director of the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Law and Aging in Washington, DC.
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Revisions to The Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) on reconciling medication information will provide some relief for hospice and home health providers when the changes become effective on July 1, 2011.
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A study of nursing home records shows more residents with dementia are seeking hospice care and use the benefit for a longer period of time.1 The study, published in American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, used records of more than 3.8 million deceased nursing home residents.
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A report by a task force appointed by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) to assess the current and future need and availability of hospice and palliative medicine (HPM) physicians shows that an acute shortage exists and current programs do not have the capacity to fill projected needs.
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Newly created bioactive peptides promote wound healing through the growth of new blood vessels and epithelial tissue, such as skin.
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Effective compliance with the requirements of the face-to-face encounter now in place for certifications of patients receiving the hospice benefit requires attention to proper documentation of the visit.
