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Resources by Topic: Hospice and palliative care

Models and Strategies to Integrate Palliative Care Principles into Care for People with Serious Illness: Proceedings of a Workshop
Summarizes presentations, discussions, and workshop participant suggestions for improving the quality of, expanding access to, and supporting policies for community-based palliative care. Provides examples of community-based palliative care models, including a model for reaching patients in rural underserved areas.
Additional links: Read Online, Workshop Highlights
Author(s): Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Serious Illness
Date: 2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Infrequent Provision of Palliative Care to Patients with Dialysis-Requiring AKI
Explores the use of palliative care among patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) who require dialysis. Examines data contained in the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from 44 states and over 4,000 hospitals. Compares palliative care use across different comorbidities, patient demographics, and hospital types, including urban and rural hospitals.
Author(s): Kelly Chong, Samuel A. Silver, Jin Long, et al.
Citation: Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 12(11), 1744-1752
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
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Rural-Urban Variations in Medicare Live Discharge Patterns from Hospice, 2012-2013
Details a study on the instances of live discharges from the Medicare hospice program from 2012-2013. Compares rural and urban discharge rates, as well as for-profit and nonprofit business models.
Author(s): Rachel Dolin, Denise Kirk, Mark Holmes
Date: 09/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Engaging Patients and Families to Create a Feasible Clinical Trial Integrating Palliative and Heart Failure Care: Results of the Enable CHF-PC Pilot Clinical Trial
Presents the results of a study to determine the feasibility and site differences in an early palliative care (EPC) trial, the ENABLE CHF-PC (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends Comprehensive Heartcare for Patients and Caregivers). Participants were from rural and underserved areas with diverse socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. Sixty-one patients with advance heart failure and 48 caregivers participated in the program.
Author(s): Marie Bakitas, J. Nicholas Dionne-Odom, Salpy V. Pamboukian, et al.
Citation: BMC Palliative Care, 16(1), 45
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
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Rural-Urban Differences in Medicare Service Use in the Last Six Months of Life
Details a study on healthcare utilization by Medicare beneficiaries in the last six months of life in both urban and rural areas. Looks specifically at inpatient care, outpatient care, and home health, as well as other types of healthcare services.
Author(s): Elizabeth Crouch, Kevin J. Bennett, Janice C. Probst
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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The Financial Importance of Medicare Post-Acute and Hospice Care to Rural Hospitals
Findings brief describing variation in the number of hospitals in rural areas providing Medicare post-acute care (PAC) and hospice care, average amount of revenue generated for these services, and financial importance to rural hospitals. Includes statistics on 2015 Medicare PAC and hospice care revenue as percentage of patient revenue in 1,205 Critical Access Hospitals and 964 Prospective Payment System hospitals.
Author(s): Alex Schulte, H. Ann Howard, George H. Pink
Date: 07/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Promising Practice: Advisory Group in Washington State Works to Bring Palliative Care to Rural Patients
Describes the Palliative Care Rural Health Integration Advisory Team (PC-RHIAT) initiated by the Washington State Office of Rural Health (WA SORH), which aims to bring palliative care to rural patients through the use of telehealth and community engagement. The WA SORH facilitates this process by bringing experts in palliative care, rural health and telehealth, together with hospitals, clinics, and community team members to develop an action plan based in the rural community and within their healthcare organizations.
Author(s): Beth Blevins
Date: 06/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
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LTSS Research: Hospice in Indian Country
Presents a literature review on the barriers to end-of-life care for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN), and provides recommendations to minimize these barriers. Discusses the cultural considerations of hospice and palliative care for AI/AN patients.
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2017
Provides an annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussions on Medicare payment policies that directly affect rural providers and beneficiaries. Analyses payment adequacy for home health, skilled nursing, long-term care hospitals, hospice, ambulatory surgical centers, and rehabilitation facilities.
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Third Annual Report: HCIA Disease-Specific Evaluation
Findings from the third year for 18 Health Care Innovation Awards Round One projects targeting patient populations with specific diseases. Provides information on program effectiveness based on Medicare and Medicaid claims data and awardee-collected data. Includes projects that serve a variety of rural areas and address conditions such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and chronic pain. Approaches discussed include care coordination, education, and telehealth.
Additional links: Addendum, June 2017
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
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