Hospice & Palliative Medicine
From the Journals
Better ICU staff communication with family may improve end-of-life choices
Latest News
Medicare hospital deaths decline, hospice usage increases
During 2000-2015, Medicare recipients became less likely to die in hospitals.
Conference Coverage
Palliative care may reduce suicide among lung cancer patients
Most patients who died by suicide had not received palliative care.
From the Journals
Prompt palliative care cut hospital costs in pooled study
Average cost savings per hospital admission were $3,237 overall and were even greater for cancer patients.
Latest News
Advance care planning benefit presents challenges
Some are having success using new Medicare billing codes, while other doctors say barriers are preventing usage.
Feature
End-of-life advice: More than 500,000 chat on Medicare’s dime
The 90-year-old woman in the San Diego–area nursing home was quite clear, said Karl Steinberg, MD. She didn’t want aggressive measures to prolong...
From the Journals
Research gaps identified for palliative surgical care
Palliative care in surgery remains understudied, according to a work group convened by the National Institutes of Health and the National...
Article
Clinicians call for expanded pulmonary palliative care
News
FRAIL scale found to predict 1-year functional status of geriatric trauma patients
WAIKOLOA, HAWAII – The FRAIL scale questionnaire predicts functional status and mortality at 1 year among geriatric trauma patients and is a...
News
FDA: New labeling warns against combining opioids, benzodiazepines
Prescription opioid pain or cough medicines and benzodiazepines will now carry the strongest available warning regarding serious side effects and...