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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).
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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"Hospice nurse arrested for theft." ... "Family accuses hospice nurse of stealing from patient."
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The year 2009 will represent a year of change for hospices with new conditions of participation, greater scrutiny of claims, and new requirements for data collection. What is not known is how the economy, along with sociological and political changes, will affect the industry.
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Florence Wald, a former Yale nursing dean whose interest in compassionate care led her to launch the first U.S. hospice program, has died, according to the Associated Press (AP). She was 91.
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Recently released data reflecting 2007 usage of hospice indicates that 38.8% of all deaths in the United States were under the care of hospice, up from 35% the previous year.
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Washington state voters recently approved a measure permitting terminally ill adults to request and self-administer lethal medications prescribed by a physician, according to the American Hospital Association (AHA).
