Hospice News

MARCH 26, 2024

Hospitalized cancer patients have a greater likelihood of receiving a hospice referral from a hospitalist than other physicians, recent research has found. of patients to inpatient hospice settings between July 26, 2021 and Jan. Horn Prsic is a medical oncologist and palliative care physician.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

With heightened regulatory scrutiny and dropping utilization, hospices are walking a tightrope when it comes to providing the General Inpatient (GIP) level of care. Though hospices are required to offer all four levels of care, more than half did not provide a single day of GIP during 2022, according to the U.S.

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Hospice News

JULY 6, 2023

Barriers to expanding pediatric inpatient hospice care include a lack of specialized facilities as well as staff who are sufficiently trained to provide those services. Children are an underserved population in the hospice realm, particularly when it comes to inpatient care.

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Hospice News

MARCH 30, 2023

Hospices are working to strike a harmonious chord between increased demand for inpatient care and the workforce resources to support it. Some hospice providers have seen a rise in demand for inpatient care. Empath’s affiliate Suncoast Hospice of Hillsborough recently opened a new 10-bed inpatient unit at St.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 29, 2023

The program is designed to recognize up-and-coming industry members who are shaping the next decade of home health, hospice care, senior housing, skilled nursing, and behavioral health. Hayley Powell, Clinical Operations Manager at PalliCare, has been named a 2023 Future Leader by Hospice News.

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Hospice News

AUGUST 3, 2023

Communities in southern Minnesota are working to help Allina Health find a sustainable path forward following the recent closure of its inpatient hospice facility. Minneapolis-based Allina Health built the Homestead Hospice House in 2005, which served both Owatonna and Steele county communities in the state before recently shuttering.

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Hospice News

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

The earlier a patient receives palliative care, the larger the return on investment, an analysis by the Pennsylvania-based health system WellSpan Health has found. Palliative care is often viewed as a cost center in health care, rather than a revenue generator. There was a 20% lower cost in one of the hospitals.

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Hospice News

JULY 7, 2023

Hospices need to have solid documentation to demonstrate a patient’s need for general inpatient care (GIP) as regulatory oversight zeroes in on those services. I have seen increasing GIP hospice audits in recent years. It is reasonable for hospices to expect that long length GIP stays will be under scrutiny.”

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Hospice News

AUGUST 23, 2023

Texas-based Midland Health recently opened a new inpatient palliative care center aimed at improving access and quality outcomes among seriously ill patients and their families. Dubbed the Center for Serious Illness and Supportive Care, the facility will be based at the health system’s Midland Memorial Hospital.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 18, 2023

A revolution is needed in hospice care, complete with a new mindset, updated care models and redesigned payment systems, Dr Monisha Pujari, medical director for Longleaf Hospice, told Hospice News. Hospice News spoke with Pujari about her vision for hospice care and what it would take to make it a reality.

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Hospice News

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

A pilot program by an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) reduced per capita health care expenditures at a rural hospital by 70% and admissions by 98%. A key component of the initiative was a “Four Questions” framework for goals-of-care conversations. What is sacred to you? Are you afraid?

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 12, 2023

Program integrity issues that have heated up in the hospice space during the past five years reached a boiling point in 2023. Hospice providers have seen an array of increased regulatory oversight in 2023. There is scrutiny on hospice care [that’s] setting the stage for the next phase of what hospice oversight looks like.

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Hospice News

JUNE 22, 2023

Recent allegations that staff at HCA Healthcare (NYSE: HCA) put pressure on patients to enter hospice dovetail with longstanding questions over how and when patients should be referred. At the same time, it’s really hard to picture what could have occurred there without some sort of corporate involvement.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

A systematic overhaul of the nation’s health care education programs is needed to ensure that future clinicians are prepared to provide palliative and hospice care amid rising demand, according to Dr. Leah McDonald of HopeHealth. McDonald is a hospice and palliative care physician at HopeHealth.

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Hospice News

MARCH 25, 2024

Arizona-based Stoneridge Hospice launched services in 2020 with an aim to address a swelling aging population’s growing need for end-of-life care. Stoneridge Hospice provides home-based hospice and also contracts with other providers to offer facility-based services. Stoneridge Hospice launched in 2020.

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Hospice News

APRIL 25, 2023

New Jersey-based RWJBarnabas Health has expanded its pediatric palliative care program at the health system’s Children’s Specialized Hospital (CSH). The move will increase outpatient and inpatient pediatric palliative care services at the hospital, as well as across the health system’s footprint.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 24, 2023

Revocations of the hospice benefit can have serious adverse effects on patients and families, as well as providers. Live discharges can occur for a number of reasons, including the patient or family changing their minds about receiving hospice care, or the patient improves and no longer needs those services. About 15.4%

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Hospice News

APRIL 7, 2023

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking answers from the hospice community — including some around utilization patterns and non-hospice spending. The recently proposed 2024 hospice payment rule contained a 2.8% In Fiscal Year 2022, routine home care accounted for 98.8% of hospice days and 93.7%

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Hospice providers are increasingly focused on memory care settings and physician offices as referral sources. Though many hospices see facility-based care as their primary referral engines, a growing base of providers are seeking ties to community-based organizations to increase access and utilization this year.

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Hospice News

MAY 2, 2023

While providers and payers do what they can to scale palliative care, ultimately, payment reform will be “critical,” according to Dr. Glen Digwood, division chief of palliative care at Geisinger’s Wyoming Valley Medical Center. We have traditional inpatient consultative services at four of our system hospitals.

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Hospice News

APRIL 12, 2024

Hospice providers navigate various challenges when addressing unmet needs and goals of care among patients with severe enduring anorexia nervosa. Additionally, patients with severe enduring anorexia nervosa often have longer inpatient admissions and a history of various medical treatments, the research found.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 29, 2024

Palliative care is an evolving field. Though long-established as a medical specialty, these health care services have yet to reach their full potential due to reimbursement pressures, poor awareness and staffing headwinds. Rising demand In 2024, demand will continue to rise, driven by a number of factors.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

In this Voices interview, Hospice News sits down with Monica Han, Clinical Sales Specialist at Enclara Pharmacia, to learn about the transformation of the hospice inpatient sector and the operating models within it. Hospice News: What career experiences do you most draw from, in your role today?

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Hospice News

JUNE 21, 2022

Christopher Comfort, chief operating officer for Calvary Hospital in New York City, oversees the organization’s operating budget as well as all patient care. He is also an ambassador for the hospital’s CalvaryCare program, designed to educate the health care community and the public about palliative care and hospice.

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Hospice News

APRIL 22, 2022

Francis Reflections Lifestage Care recently opened a new inpatient hospice care center inside the Melbourne Regional Medical Center. A swelling demand for hospice in the community spurred the unit’s development. Formerly Hospice of St. Florida-based St. Each patient room of the St. A team of St. billion.

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 14, 2023

Research around hospice care has come a long way. But data gaps exist when it comes to expanding understanding of some aspects of end-of-life care delivery. A range of researchers has amassed a growing base of data on hospice, with some common themes tied to quality outcomes, costs, length of stay and general inpatient care.

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Hospice News

OCTOBER 13, 2023

Home Health of the Ozarks and Hospice of Care Names New Director Missouri-based Texas County Memorial Hospital (TCMH) has appointed Cheryl Maley, registered nurse, as new director of Home Health of the Ozarks and Hospice of Care. The nonprofit hospice is supported by TCMH Healthcare Foundation’s Hospice Memorial Fund.

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Hospice News

JUNE 13, 2023

Department of Justice (DOJ) is prioritizing hospice as the agency cracks down on health care fraud. DOJ counts hospice claims among the root causes of rising Medicare costs in recent years, according to Lisa Miller, deputy assistant attorney general overseeing the department’s Crime Fraud Section.

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Hospice News

JULY 15, 2022

Home-based care provider AccentCare has been busy since its merger with Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care, exploring new technologies and care delivery strategies, as well as expanding business lines. More recently, we’ve started using Muse to really help us to understand patient acuity within hospice.

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Hospice News

JANUARY 22, 2024

Eduardo Bruera is a true pioneer in the field of palliative care. Bruera founded the first academic fellowship program in palliative care at the University of Alberta in Canada. This department has emerged as the largest clinical and academic palliative care program in the world. What drew you to the palliative care field?

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 14, 2023

Offering hospice can be a gamechanger for skilled nursing and assisted living operators looking to stand out from competitors and improve patient reach. Home-based care, including hospice, has become an increasingly attractive space for facility-based health care providers of all walks. Among the 1.6

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Hospice News

DECEMBER 15, 2023

Palliative care providers have opportunities to bridge gaps of unmet needs among patients who have serious mental illnesses (SMIs) and their families. People with SMIs navigate a complicated mental health care system that can become even more challenging when they have a serious or chronic physical illness.

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Hospice News

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

Recent research has uncovered some of the leading barriers preventing greater pediatric palliative care utilization across underserved communities. Policy changes within and beyond the health care system … are essential to address the root causes of treatment inequities and to promote equitable and excellent health for all children.”

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Hospice News

AUGUST 14, 2023

Past payment model demonstrations that included community-based palliative care offer a window into how these services could generate cost savings and improved quality. Among those demos is the Medicare Care Choices Model (MCCM), which ran between 2016 and 2021.

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Hospice News

JULY 17, 2023

Fraud, waste and abuse issues that have percolated in the hospice space have put providers up against some regulatory walls. Bad actors in the hospice space can cost the nation’s health care system millions in fraudulent billing practices and also hinder access to care among terminally ill patients.

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Hospice News

APRIL 17, 2024

The lines of palliative and psychiatric services may increasingly intersect as demand for collaborative care swells among seriously ill populations with mental health conditions. The most challenging cases are patients with severe mental illness and severe medical illness,” Krishnasamy told Palliative Care News.

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Hospice News

JUNE 16, 2023

North Carolina-headquartered Novant Health has launched a new palliative care program to help improve quality of life for patients with heart failure. The health system is rolling out the new program in partnership with hospice and palliative care provider Lower Cape Fear LifeCare.

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