April 17, 2014
(CNN) – A former Georgia hospital technician was sentenced to up to six months in prison after pleading guilty to manipulating the mammogram records of 1,289 patients. Ten of those women were given false negatives, and two of them are … Read More
April 15, 2014
(Washington Post) – As a geriatric psychiatrist, I understood the devastating toll dementia could take on an entire family. I had urged my mother-in-law to seek care early, which she had done, so she knew her options included activities to … Read More
April 4, 2014
(New York Times) – Hospital-dependent patients are those who, a generation ago, were doomed to die. Now they are being saved. But they are not like the so-called hot spotters, a group of patients more commonly associated with frequent re-admissions … Read More
March 31, 2014
(Nursing Times) – The way hospitals record patient deaths could be covering up poor treatment and costing lives, claims a new report from data analysts. Figures show a dramatic rise in the number of people recorded as needing “palliative care” … Read More
March 28, 2014
(New York Times) – The number of infections Americans acquire during hospital stays every year has declined substantially over the last decade, federal health officials said in a report on Wednesday, as hospitals have worked to improve their practices and … Read More
March 26, 2014
(The Guardian) – Demand for high-quality palliative and end-of-life care is expected to surge in the next few decades, driven by the UK’s fast-ageing population. More people are living well into their 80s and beyond, many with multiple, complex health … Read More
March 20, 2014
(Fox News) – My new book, Changing the Way We Die, co-authored by Sheila Himmel, lifts hospice out of the shadows. We explore its compassionate, holistic approach to end-of-life care through the stories of real patients like Rusty Hammer, their … Read More
March 13, 2014
(New York Times) – The number of older people seeking health care is expected to increase significantly over the next 40 years, doubling in the case of those older than 65, potentially tripling among those over 85. In a health … Read More
March 10, 2014
(Nursing Times) – Although health professionals may tell patients when they are nearing the end of their lives, patients do not always absorb or want this information. Aside from close companions and friends, nurses have the closest and most sustained … Read More
February 28, 2014
(BBC) – A nurse left paralysed in Nanjing, a doctor with his throat slashed in Hebei and another beaten to death with a pipe in Heilongjiang. Three separate incidents all of which took place in China over the past two … Read More
February 27, 2014
(Nursing Times) – A practice-based educational pathway has been found to improve nurses’ confidence in delivering end-of-life care to patients. The pathway involved assigning a mentor from a specialist palliative care team to community and district nurses from South Tyneside … Read More
February 26, 2014
(The Telegraph) – Hospital patients are more likely to die after surgery if they are treated by nurses who don’t have a bachelor’s degree, a study has found. Researchers followed up more than 420,000 patients from 300 hospitals across Europe … Read More
February 25, 2014
(Washington Post) – The patient is large. Very large. At more than 600 pounds, he is a mountain of flesh. “My stomach hurts,†he says, his voice surprisingly high and childlike. It is 10 p.m. in the emergency room, and … Read More
February 25, 2014
(News-Medical) – District and community nurses who completed a practice-based educational pathway reported greater confidence in delivering palliative and end of life care to patients. Nurses working in these roles said communication was their main area of concern in relation … Read More
February 21, 2014
(BBC) – “There are several reasons one might stay in Romania,” says medical student Andreea Rosca sweetly, over a ginger beer in a Bucharest bar. “You love your country, you have family, friends. Maybe you dream about changing the system. … Read More
February 20, 2014
(Medical Xpress) – Results of the first clinical study to assess the impact of providing early outpatient palliative care versus standard oncology care in a wide range of advanced cancers show that earlier care improved quality of life and patient … Read More
February 19, 2014
(Nurse.com) – Using home-based hospice practices for terminally ill, hospitalized patients could reduce suffering and improve end-of-life care, according to a study. The study, published Jan. 21 on the website of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, was described as … Read More
February 18, 2014
(Washington Post) – It was my wife’s first colonoscopy; it turned out to be the only one she ever had. She was 53. Whether Cheryl would have lived longer if she’d had the exam earlier I’ll never know. She died … Read More
February 18, 2014
(Nursing Times) – Eric Lindner is a Hospice volunteer in US and this book charts his experiences in this role over the last four years via a series of carefully crafted and sensitively written vignettes. He has no background in … Read More
February 17, 2014
(Nursing Times) – Combined hormonal contraceptives (or “the pillâ€) are in the news after letters were sent to doctors to tell them about the latest evidence on the risk of thromboembolism (blood clots) associated with combined contraceptives. Unfortunately, most of the … Read More
February 14, 2014
(Huffington Post) – A Pennsylvania judge threw out an assisted suicide charge Tuesday against a nurse accused of handing her 93-year-old terminally ill father a bottle of morphine, a decision that brought elation and relief to the defendant and her … Read More
February 14, 2014
(Medscape) – Physicians have seen their incomes fall, their clout with insurers shrink, and their practices weighed down by a plethora of new requirements. As some doctors see it, this is the direct result of exploitation by payers, hospitals, policymakers, … Read More
January 31, 2014
(Aeon Magazine) – One doesn’t have to work in a hospital long to experience or observe some form of disrespect. This is hardly a secret. The bullying culture of medicine has been widely written about and portrayed in popular media. … Read More
January 31, 2014
(Nursing Times) – In England, most long-term care for older people is provided by independent care homes. These older people are often in the last years of life, have a degree of cognitive impairment and live with multiple health and … Read More
January 31, 2014
Nursing Ethics (Volume 21, No. 1, February 2014) is now available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Patient safety and quality in healthcare: Nursing ethics for ethics quality†by Ebin J Arries “Ethical challenges embedded in qualitative research interviews with close … Read More
