Palliative Care

Advance directives mean more palliative, less costly care, study shows

October 07, 2011

Individuals with advance directives are more likely to receive palliative care and are less likely to die in a hospital, a new study finds.

Physicians unhappy with palliative care act

June 08, 2011

New York State's Palliative Care Information Act, which was passed last summer and implemented in February, is meeting resistance from doctors who treat patients at the end of their life.

Critics of nursing-home hospices suspicious of revenue

January 31, 2011

When a major lobbying group trumpeted the long-term care industry's status as an economic and job-creating powerhouse last week, critics took the opportunity to press for further inquiries into how nursing homes are financed and operated — particularly LTC facilities that provide hospice services.

Palliative sedation at end of life is appropriate in cases of extreme suffering, review article says

October 04, 2010

Palliative sedation at the end of life is ethically sound and has "an important place on the continuum of appropriate palliative care," according to a new review article.

Medicare demonstration project to cover hospice, curative care

September 08, 2010

The Medicare program is gearing up to begin a 15-site demonstration project that will provide both hospice care and life-sustaining treatments to Medicare beneficiaries, according to recent reports.

Benefits of palliative care include longer, better life, study finds

August 20, 2010

Some terminally patients who receive palliative care live longer and with a better quality of life than those who receive standard medical care, a new report suggests.

A new idea for hospice in long-term care

Larry Beresford June 29, 2010

The latest research raises the question of whether nursing homes should take charge of hospice care and not rely on outside contractors.

Study: End-of-life care plans ease relatives' depression, stress

March 25, 2010

Relatives of elderly patients nearing the end of life experience less stress and depression if their loved one has made his or her end-of-life care wishes known, a new study finds.

New checklist for at-home palliative sedation

February 19, 2010

Spanish researchers have created a new checklist to help caregivers provide palliative sedation in home-care settings.

Obama talks about end-of-life planning as hospice providers lobby against funding cuts

June 29, 2009

President Barack Obama suggested at a town hall meeting at the White House last Wednesday that some end-of-life education and planning could help save on medical expenses. A day later, hospice care organizations asked the president to halt funding cuts for their programs.