A group of 350 organizations, including the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, are urging Congress to make Medicare telehealth flexibilities introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic permanent, or at least extend them for two years. In a letter to congressional leaders, the organizations emphasize the importance of telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries, particularly those with chronic conditions or in rural areas, and highlight the potential impact on health care access and infrastructure.

New guidance from the Heart Failure Society of America highlights the importance of integrating palliative care into heart failure management to improve quality of life and symptom control. The guidance, published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure, emphasizes the value of communication frameworks and explores disparities in access to palliative care.

Palliative medicine physician BJ Miller and actor Chris Hemsworth explore the nature of pain and how to manage it in the docuseries "Limitless: Live Better Now." The series, on Disney+ and Hulu, examines the science of pain and explores various techniques to alter the experience of pain.

Southgate Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Metropolis, Ill., converted an empty wing of the facility into a hospice care unit called Magnolia Boulevard to help alleviate a shortage of hospice services in the area. The unit features seven private, homelike rooms and offers support for residents and their families. "The more we prepared it, the more we realized there was more of a need than we thought," said Mary Daubert, the center's administrator.

Olivia Wooten, 33, who is in hospice care two years after being diagnosed with ALS, is focusing on living life with joy and meeting her soon-to-be-born nephew. Neither Wooten nor her father, who died of ALS, is a carrier of any of the 44 genes known to be linked to ALS, and her case remains a mystery. "ALS doesn't define me," Wooten said. "It's not who I am; it's just a small portion of my testimony and who I am," she said.

Patient outcomes from a pharmacist-led opioid deprescribing program showed a significant reduction in opioid use, according to a study published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. Of the 20 palliative care clinic patients involved, 90% adhered to the program, resulting in an average 22% reduction in oral morphine equivalents. The program highlights the positive impact of pharmacist involvement in managing and reducing opioid dependency.

A study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society linked frailty in older adults to higher rates of hospital discharge to postacute care facilities, readmissions and mortality. The study, which involved more than 23,000 patients ages 65 and older, linked discharge to a skilled nursing facility to a higher risk of mortality.

A study in JAMA Neurology that included more than 5.7 million Medicare patients found men had higher mortality and hospitalization rates than women after being diagnosed with dementia. Researchers noted higher rates of hospice care, neuroimaging services and hospitalization for neurodegenerative disease diagnoses among men.

People with dementia who used hearing aids had fewer neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as irritability and apathy, according to a study in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. The analysis of more than 10,000 people with dementia found no significant difference in the number of symptoms between those with and without hearing loss, but hearing aid use was associated with fewer and less severe symptoms.

More than 85% of people who choose medical aid in dying are hospice patients, according to a 2021 report by Compassion & Choices, and hospice care providers should have an understanding of the legal and ethical issues involved. "Agencies need to have a policy that aligns with their mission, vision and values, but they can't ignore the questions," AccentCare Vice President of Patient Experience Yelena Zatulovsky said. Hospice clinicians do not need to know every aspect of MA