With a growing number of states recently enacting medical cannabis legislation, many patients entering palliative care may already be using cannabis for symptom management. Does cannabis have a place in palliative care? Can it be used as a tool to help patients cope with suffering and improve quality of life? A Growing Field There is a growing field of research into the use of medical cannabis in hospice and palliative settings. Cannabis medicines have been shown to relieve many symptoms, including pain, nausea, and vomiting, specifically in cancer patients. Cannabis can also help increase app ..read more

Writing for the Mayo Clinic, Mary K Buss, MD, MPH made an interesting observation: “Many PCPs already engage in primary palliative care but may not recognize their actions as palliative care.”1 In fact, general practitioners, not hospice or specialists, provide most palliative care. Palliative medicine grew out of the hospice movement and was recognized as its own medical subspecialty along with hospice in 2006. This fact leads many to conflate palliative care, hospice, and end-of-life care. All hospice is palliative, but not all palliative medicine is hospice. Defining Palliative Care To appr ..read more

The American Society of Clinical Oncology describes hospice as an essential component of end-of-life (EOL) care.1 As such, hospice utilization among patients with hematologic malignancies merits scrutiny as an area where hospice utilization is traditionally lower than with solid malignancies. Recently, Oreofe Odejide, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and colleagues published an analysis of hospice utilization among patients who died with lymphoma, and they made recommendations for improving patient care.2    Researchers analyzed Medicare records for 18,777 patients who d ..read more

There are certain words in health care that no one wants to hear. Hospice shouldn’t be one of them. When people hear the word ‘hospice’, they generally know it has something to with end-of-life care? But what is hospice really? The purpose of hospice is to provide care, support, and comfort to patients and their family members when an illness can no longer be cured. Many people think that hospice is about giving up and that it is only for cancer patients. All these rumors are false and often brought on by a lack of information about hospice care. There are many common misconceptions about hosp ..read more

Families of a loved one who is seriously ill often wonder, “When is a person ready for hospice?” Making the decision to end treatment and pursue hospice is very difficult. Many of us assume we’ll always have a little more time with our loved ones. Even when our loved ones are in the late stages of serious illness, and medical treatments may offer hope for longer life. But medicine can only take us so far. This is a decision many families put off, due to confusion about what hospice actually is. The right time for hospice care isn’t an exact science, but understanding the signs and symptoms to ..read more

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia among older adults. About one in nine people in the United States aged 65 and older have Alzheimer’s disease. According to the Alzheimer’s Association 2022 Alzheimer’s Disease Fact and Figures report, this population is projected to increase from 58 million in 2021 to 88 million by 2050.1 With the rise in life expectancy and increased risk of dementia in older adults, the demand for nurses who are trained to care for people with dementia is also growing. Patients nearing their final days, can greatly benefit from hospice professionals wh ..read more

Facing death in the family is challenging enough. Money shouldn’t be another stressor during the process. The unfortunate truth is that healthcare, in general, is expensive. However, when your hospice provider has Medicare certification, Medicare will pay 100% of costs including clinician fees and related supplies, equipment, and drugs. But how long will Medicare pay for hospice? As long as needed. Sometimes, the initial six-month prognosis isn’t accurate. While this could mean spending more time with a loved one, it also means Medicare will need to be addressed again. After two 90-day benefit ..read more

Hospice Care Index: A Perfect 10 In August 2022, Medicare included a new overall quality measure for Hospice Care Compare: the Hospice Care Index. Much like the star-rating for other provider types, Medicare’s Hospice Care Index serves as a composite score of ten quality measures, reflecting the overall quality of each hospice provider. For each quality measure where the hospice has good performance, one point is added to the Hospice Care Index. Scores range from 0 to 10. How Are Hospice Care Index Scores Calculated? Medicare derives the data exclusively from billing records, avoiding the pote ..read more

Sooner or later, most of us will suffer deep grief over the death of someone we love. Grieving is a natural process that is inherent in humans. In some ways, grieving is a universal touchstone shared by all of us, making it common ground among family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers. The mourning process may take months or even years, and most people adjust to grief and adapt their lives afterward to the absence of their loved one. But for a minority of bereaved people, the grieving process may become a prolonged reaction.1 What Is the Difference Between Grief and Depression? Both grief ..read more

Each November, the home care and hospice community honors the millions of nurses, home care aides, therapists, and social workers who make a difference for the patients and families they serve. These heroic caregivers play a central role in our health care system and in homes across the nation. To recognize their efforts, we call upon all Americans to commemorate the power of caring, both at home and in their local communities, and join with 1800HOSPICE and the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) in celebrating November as National Home Care & Hospice Month. What is Hos ..read more