SWHPN’s Tracy Schroepfer Appointed to NQF Palliative and EOL Care Project
Congratulations to Social Work Hospice & Palliative Care Network (SWHPN) Board Member and Executive Committee Member Dr. Tracy Schroepfer on being appointed to the Steering Committee of the National Quality Forum’s (NQF) Palliative and End-of-Life Care project. The purpose and mission of this special NQF project is to identify and endorse measures for public reporting [...]
Reimbursement for Advance Care Planning Dropped… Again
In an unfortunate reversal at the start of this year, the Obama administration decided to drop reimbursement for physicians for advance care planning as part of the annual wellness visit for Medicare recipients. This comes as a disappointment to many hospice workers and palliative care providers who incorporate end-of-life discussions into their practice. While patients [...]
Engage with Grace
Things we are grateful for this year For three years running now, many bloggers have participated in what we’ve called a “blog rally” to promote Engage With Grace – a movement aimed at making sure all of us understand, communicate, and have honored our end-of-life wishes. The rally is timed to coincide with a weekend [...]
New Physician Payment Final Rule Includes Voluntary Advance Care Planning
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) pre-posted the 2000+ page physician payment final rule and comments on the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) website. Formal publication in the Federal Register is projected to be November 29, 2010. The final rule includes reimbursement requirements for the new annual wellness/preventive care exam under the [...]
Important Note from CAPC on Quality Strategy
Readers, please take a moment to read the note below from Diane Meier, Director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC). This is one of the most effective notes our contributors have seen on advocating for quality palliative care. Please share this post with your colleagues and any relevant organizations you are affiliated with. [...]
Spread the Word: Palliative Care Extends Life, Study Finds
A new study was published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine and quickly picked up by the New York Times, Boston Globe, Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and many other media outlets. The story will likely lead to saturation for palliative care professionals, and in the wider population break [...]
National Healthcare Decisions Day 2010
Today, April 16th, marks the 3rd annual National Healthcare Decision Day. (Death and taxes, get it?) Celebrating this event is all about communication, so here’s how you can participate. The first step is to find some advance directives. Then, fill it out. After you’ve finished, tell everyone about it. Social networking is a good venue. Christian Sinclair updated [...]
Health Care Reform & How Hospice is Impacted
NHPCO has provided a detailed update here and here on what the recently passed H.R. 3590, the Health Care Reform bill, has in store for hospice. In short, the bill “softens the productivity cuts to hospice from a proposed $10 billion to $7.8 billion.” NHPCO asserts that there is a need for a CMS Administrator to manage [...]
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