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VA Study Finds 95% Increase in Palliative Care Utilization When Patients Have Access to Social Workers

Hospice News

Patients are more likely to receive palliative care if they can access social workers through their primary care providers, Veterans Health Administration (VA) research has found. These findings suggest that social workers may increase access to and/or use of palliative care.”.

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How an Advance Care Planning Bill Could Impact Hospice and Medicare

Hospice News

and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced the Improving Access to Advance Care Planning Act to the Senate designed to promote greater access to those services among Medicare beneficiaries. Social workers are probably the most positioned for these kinds of conversations. million, Grant told Hospice News. Warner (D-Va.)

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Key Research Trends: Long Hospice Stays, Palliative Care Save Medicare Dollars

Hospice News

This is the first of a two-part service that will detail key findings from recent research on hospice care, featuring numbers that could influence they ways hospices communicate and operate. Hospices’ cost-savings potential A study published in March revealed that hospice saved Medicare roughly $3.5

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How Medicare Budget Neutrality Impacts Hospice Payment

Hospice News

Medicare reimbursement is the lifeblood of hospice providers, and a clear understanding of policies like budget neutrality can help elucidate the payment systems that keep their businesses running. The clearest example of how this works was the 2020 rebasing of payments for the four levels of hospice care.

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Asian-American Communities Face ‘Digital Divide’ in Health Equity, Hospice Care

Hospice News

Technology utilization has gained momentum in health care, including in hospice care delivery. Hospices need a culturally-informed approach to close digital gaps among AANHPI communities that impact their dying experiences, Tsze stated. Coupled with the telehealth disparities are inequities pertaining to hospice care.

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Terminal Anorexia Patients Hitting Referral, Regulatory Barriers to Hospice Care

Hospice News

Determining when a person with this condition is nearing the final stages can be a complicated process, making the ability to assess appropriateness for hospice a challenge, Brandt said. Opportunities exist to formulate improved plans for concurrent hospice care among pediatric patients in particular, she added.

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Hospices Stepping Up Performance on Visits-in-Last-Days-of-Life Measure

Hospice News

Hospices, in aggregate, are showing improvement on the quality measure for visits in the last days of life. The number of registered nurse and social worker visits during a patient’s final week is one of the seven quality measures that CMS uses to evaluate providers. In 2019, for example, the percentage was 66%.