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For patients with severe heart failure, an implanted mechanical pump known as a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) can be a life-sustaining treatment.
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When the money is flowing you don't always look closely at what you spend," admits Mary Haynor, president and chief executive officer of Horizon Home Care & Hospice in Brown Deer, WI, an agency that cut $1.3 million out of the annual budget in early 2010. "It is hard, time-consuming work to evaluate all of your costs but when you do, you see how the little things add up," she admits.
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A $1.3 million cut in an annual budget is no easy feat, but management at Horizon Home Care & Hospice in Brown Deer, WI, was able to make the cut without affecting quality or requiring across the board staff layoffs.
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Hospices serving people with Medicare will see a 2.5% increase in their Medicare payments for fiscal year (FY) 2012, according to a final regulation released July 29, 2011, by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Hospices also are called upon to begin reporting on the quality of care received by Medicare patients as a result of this final regulation.
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This is the second of a two-part series that looks at communicating with patients who have difficulty communicating. Last month, we looked at innovative and proven strategies to communicate with patients who have dementia. This month, tips and strategies for communicating with pediatric patients, and their families, are offered.
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As hospice managers face the advent of quality reporting programs, Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) programs are being evaluated to ensure the capability to meet requirements for Medicare programs.
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A short trial of a synthetic cannabinoid for people with advanced cancer was shown to improve caloric intake, appetite, and sensory perceptions around food, as well as quality of life.
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The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization has issued a position statement and commentary, Hospice and Palliative Care: Ethical Marketing Practices, that guides providers to the use of sound, ethical practices that enhance the perception of hospice in the community.
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According to the 2010 NHPCO Hospice Facts and Figures: Hospice Care in America, dementia represents the third most frequently cited non-cancer primary diagnosis for hospice.
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An Oregon-pioneered program aimed at improving health care for those with advanced illness is now receiving national attention from AARP. The recently released report about the Physicians Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) program points out that despite challenges and barriers, the POLST program does enrich care for individuals in the states that utilize POLST.
