ACP Decisions

In light of current shortcomings in the hospice benefit, let's explore where home health care can help people not served by hospice as well as improve the quality of end-of-life care.

Role of Home Health for Community-Dwelling Older Adults Near the End of Life: A Resource Beyond Hospice? | Journal of Palliative Medicine Background: Medicare home health could be leveraged to care for those near the end of life (EOL), especially for those who cannot access nor desire the Medicare hospice benefit. It is unknown what role home health currently has either preceding or as an alternative to hospice use. Objective: The aim...

Evidence that yoga protects seniors against frailty. “It’s never too late to start a yoga practice or exercise regimen to help with your overall health status in your later years.”

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/03/strong-evidence-that-yoga-protects-against-frailty-in-older-adults/?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Gazette%2020230315%20(1)

Strong evidence that yoga protects against frailty in older adults A review of 33 studies found that yoga improved known predictors of longevity, including walking speed and leg strength.

Falling has serious consequences for seniors. They are the leading cause of injury and death in Americans age 65 and older. This provides great tips on how to reduce the risk of falling @

Why are falls so serious in older people? News that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was hospitalized after a fall highlights the increased risk of fall injuries as people age.

There is no single approach to funding long-term care. We could learn a lot from international models & innovative funding mechanisms here in the US @

U.S. and Global Approaches to Financing Long-Term Care: Understanding the Patchwork Compared with the United States, many other high-income nations have adopted more comprehensive approaches to financing long-term care services.

This clearly is not the American Exceptionalism that we are proud of: We are world outliers in terms of health care spending, but we often perform worse on important health and health care measures.

@

U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2022: Accelerating Spending, Worsening Outcomes This cross-national comparison of health care systems assesses U.S. health spending, outcomes, status, and service use relative to 12 other high-income countries.

Interesting ... Having an academic medical center(s) (AMCs) in a health care market is associated w/ better 30- and 90-day mortality and healthy days at home for people treated at local non-AMCs as well. "It's possible that AMCs provide local benefits beyond direct patient care" @

Academic Medical Centers and Clinical Outcomes for Medicare Beneficiaries at Community Hospitals This cohort study examines whether market-level academic medical center presence is associated with outcomes for Medicare patients treated at nonteaching hospitals within the same markets.

Acceptance of patients' faith as an important part of their overall health is key part of their care: @ https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/02/experts-explain-spiritualitys-place-in-health-care-for-seriously-ill/?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Gazette%2020230208%20(1)

Experts explain spirituality’s place in health care for seriously ill Inspired by recent study, Harvard Divinity School panelists explore the spiritual side of health care.

The unspoken epidemic: Why health care professionals aren’t talking about burnout @

The unspoken epidemic: Why health care professionals aren't talking about burnout I recently realized that I don't talk about burnout with my colleagues or friends, even though it's a common problem in the health care industry. I've noticed that there seems to be a disconnect between the "no money, no mission" culture of the medical-industrial complex and the needs of the health....

The power of hope in the midst of tragedy. Thank you Dr. Rogers.

Hope — Beyond Firearm Trauma | NEJM Perspective from The New England Journal of Medicine — Hope — Beyond Firearm Trauma

Startling inequities in end-of-life opioid treatment with Black and Hispanic patients receiving lower doses of opioids to control pain -- these inequities were found to exist independently of patients’ socioeconomic level. @ https://ascopubs.org/doi/abs/10.1200/JCO.22.01413

Study finds ‘startling’ inequities in end-of-life opioid treatment Investigators at Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reported Black and Hispanic patients who had poor-prognosis cancer were less likely than white patients to receive opioid medications.

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/public-health/covid-19-admissions-flatten-what-cdc-predicts-for-january.html

COVID-19 admissions flatten: What CDC predicts for January COVID-19 hospitalizations appear to be leveling off in the U.S. after a steady month of growth, though it's still unclear how theholiday season may affect this trend.

Family dynamics can substantially affect the healthcare decision-making process and should be considered in conversations. Read our blog to learn more. @ https://www.acpdecisions.org/the-role-of-families-in-advance-care-planning/

The Role of Families in Advance Care Planning Advance care planning (ACP) is an ongoing communication process that involves clarifying and documenting an individual’s wishes, values, preferences, and goals regarding future medical care if they lose the capacity to make healthcare decisions.