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More than 35% (35.4%) of patients served by hospices in 2008 died or were discharged in seven days or less, reports the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). This reflects a 4.6% increase from 2007, when 30.8% of patients had what is considered a short hospice experience.
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While the details of health care reform, and the outcome of debates and votes, were uncertain at press time, a review of the two health care reform bills under debate do point out two areas that home health and hospice agencies can look ahead to implement.
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A hospice nurse in Colorado was arrested in July for using a patient's name to obtain pain medication. The nurse also was charged in November for using a physician's name along with patient names to forge prescriptions for more than 4,000 pain pills.
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An Indiana initiative to reduce pressure ulcers throughout all areas of health care has resulted in a reduction of bedsores at more than 160 organizations participating in the project.
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The Indiana Pressure Ulcer Initiative's collaborative effort to share education and tools to improve the risk identification, prevention, and treatment of pressure ulcers included more than 160 home health agencies, hospitals, and nursing homes. With the focus on education and sharing best practices among the providers, members of the 15-month first phase of the initiative posted some impressive results that contributed to a drop in reported pressure ulcers throughout the state.
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Nurses at Sullivan County Community Hospital Home Health and Hospice in Sullivan, IN, don't spend time looking for a copy of the Braden Scale, documentation checklists, pressure ulcer intervention guidelines, or teaching tools. They just pick up a pre-packaged envelope and go.
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Pressure ulcer education is pretty straightforward for nurses who want up-to-date clinical information that will help them select the best interventions to prevent pressure ulcers and the best treatments to help their patients with ulcers, says Terri Edmiston, RN, MSN, clinical manager for Parkview Hospital Home Health and Hospice in Huntington, IN.
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This is the second of two-part series about best practices in palliative care programs.
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Nursing home residents can benefit from hospice services provided in the nursing home, according to Harvard Medical School researchers.
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Older adults who take several types of psychotropic medications, such as antidepressants or sedatives, appear more likely to experience falls, according to an analysis of previous studies reported in the Nov. 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
