Managing Care for a Friend or Loved One Who is Not Your Spouse
The legal, financial, and healthcare systems have built-in rights for spouses and next of kin. However, many people late in…
Who Steals Meds from Hospice Patients?
According to a survey of 371 hospice providers published in February’s Journal of the American Medical Association, family caregivers, relatives,…
New Report: What Percentage of Americans Receive Hospice?
A report just published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society estimates that every day in America roughly 2,700…
More Americans Dying at Home than in the Hospital for the First Time in at Least 50 Years
This past December, The New England Journal of Medicine published a report noting a historic shift in where Americans spend…
Why Are Heart Failure Patients More Likely to Discharge from Hospice Alive?
Medicare pays 100% for hospice if patients have a life expectancy of six months or less and they are not…
Is My Doctor Giving Up on Me? Reactions to A Hospice Recommendation.
Hospice is a Medicare-covered service of symptom control for patients nearing the end of life and of emotional support for…
Twelve Questions Anyone Should Ask When Diagnosed with Serious Illness
For most of us, there will come a time in our lives when we are sitting in an exam room…
Is It Appropriate for Doctors to Use the Surprise Question on Terminally Ill Patients?
The “surprise question” is a technique doctors sometimes use to help with care planning for terminally ill patients. Its appropriateness…
Can Doctors Accurately Predict How Long Someone Has to Live?
When patients have a terminal disease, candid but compassionate conversations about life expectancy prove vitally important. These conversations help patients…
How to Tell Your Doctor if You Do or Don’t Want to Know Your Life Expectancy
If you were diagnosed with a terminal disease, would you want the doctor to tell you how long you are…
