The relatively new hospice industry is a needed and important part of end-of-life care. But it has grown too quickly for the relatively minor oversight it gets, and that has caused heart-wrenching patient harm. That’s the take-home message of a recent exposé in the Washington Post. “Hospices,” it says, “are among the least inspected organizations….
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Suggested Reading: Coming to Grips with End-of-Life Decisions
Sometimes, we read an article that’s important, moving and, we hope, illuminating, but too long to summarize fairly in a blog post. Last year, one such story, written by Charles Ornstein, a Pulitzer Prize-winning health journalist, was published by ProPublica.org, a nonprofit investigative news site. It perfectly captures the emotional turmoil involved in making end-of-life….
Continue ReadingBlood Test for Alzheimer’s Raises Thorny Questions
Last week, a report published in Nature Medicine offered the blockbuster news that, in 9 of 10 cases, a blood test can identify people in their 70s who are likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease with a couple of years. The news carries a mixed message. As explained on NPR.org, the test is much easier than….
Continue ReadingNursing Homes Escape Oversight, Patients Suffer
A flurry of news stories the last few weeks about the dismal safety record of U.S. nursing homes has renewed interested in beefing up inspections where 1 in 3 patients in skilled nursing facilities suffers a medication error, infection or some harm related to treatment, according to a government report by the Department of Health….
Continue ReadingHelping Friends Cope with Trauma
When someone you know has been dealt an unspeakable tragedy, go, be there with them. Don’t think they “need space.” And when you’re with them, a few things not to do: Don’t compare your loss of a pet with their loss of a child. And don’t tell them, “You’ll get over it.” Because they won’t,….
Continue ReadingScanning for Alzheimer’s Disease Has Benefits, But They’re Not What You Think
An op-ed in the New York Times by oncologist Ezekiel J. Emanuel provided that welcome blend of empathy – he worries about being stricken by that evil disease Alzheimer’s as much as anyone – and insight – as a cancer doc, he provides a scientific context for our concern. Emanuel worries if his elderly parents’….
Continue ReadingSuggested Reading— Patients at Risk in Assisted Living Facilities
Last month, the PBS show “Frontline” documented the horrors of some patients in assisted living facilities. The hour-long film was produced in conjunction with ProPublica, the investigative news organization. The “Frontline” production was but a tip of the iceberg of this major investigation exploring America’s largest assisted living company. It has about 500 facilities in….
Continue ReadingMedicare Takes a Pass on Expanding Hospice Care—For Now
Many Medicare recipients delay getting hospice services because they must agree to cease curative treatments such as chemotherapy. So by the time they do enter hospice, their condition is much more dire, and many often have mere days to live. Some never make it to hospice at all, and spend their final days in a….
Continue ReadingOnline Assistance for Rating Senior Care Facilities
It’s hard enough to bear the emotional freight of putting an elderly loved in a care facility without the overwhelming burden of not knowing what’s available in your area, or how to assess a nursing home’s quality. A new digital service can help. Caregiverlist.com compiles data from more than 18,000 nursing homes across the country….
Continue ReadingMedicare Provides More Hospice Care, but Also More Hospital Overtreatment
In a good news/bad news scenario about end-of-life care, more people older than 65 are dying in hospice care and fewer are dying in hospitals, but patients also are hospitalized more frequently in the last three months of their lives. They’re also more likely to spend time in intensive care units, and frequently receive hospice….
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