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  • Accusations of theft by employees increase

    "Hospice nurse arrested for theft." ... "Family accuses hospice nurse of stealing from patient."
  • Limits, disclosure avoid misunderstandings

    Hospice nurses, aides, and therapists do a wonderful job caring for their patients, so it is natural that the patients and families want to thank them with gifts. Unfortunately, the size and type of gift can put the employee and agency into the uncomfortable position of being accused of theft if strict guidelines are not developed and followed.
  • Doctors' legal questions might result in patient pain

    When treatment options dwindle or are exhausted, terminally ill patients often opt for pain management and comfort over life-extending therapies. However, researchers report that a lack of thorough understanding about the laws governing end-of-life care might leave providers with an ethical dilemma and cause some terminally ill patients considerable, unnecessary pain.
  • Patient-controlled pain med can increase risk of errors

    Intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) allows patients to control their own pain medication, but a new study published in the December 2008 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety shows that errors related to this practice are four times more likely to result in patient harm than errors that occur with other medications.
  • Advanced certification created for social workers

    The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) have created the advanced certified hospice and palliative social worker credential (ACHP-SW).
  • Hospital discharges to post-acute care on rise

    The annual number of patients discharged from U.S. community hospitals to home health care rose 53% between 1997 and 2006, while the number discharged to long-term care and other facilities rose 30%, according to a new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
  • Medicare issues home health PPS notice

    The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a notice to update the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) for calendar year 2009.
  • Lack of pediatric care makes bad situation worse

    When Katie Westbrook was 14 years old, she and her mother, Beth Westbrook, made a monumental decision together. Katie, who had been battling osteosarcoma since she was 12, had already endured several rounds of chemotherapy, surgery to remove a tumor in her lower back, a leg amputation, and an inoperable tumor in her neck. She decided she was ready for hospice.
  • Lawsuits over withholding support are called myths

    Health care providers are understandably concerned about the legal climate in which they live, observes Marshall B. Kapp, JD, MPH, professor in the department of community health at Wright State University School of Medicine in Dayton, OH.
  • Report card gives states low grades in providing end-of-life care

    A state-by-state report card on hospice services shows most states are doing a poor job of caring for the dying. According to the report, patients are spending less time in hospice care than they did in the early 1980s when the movement first started in the United States.