NHPCO NewsLine December 2013 - (Page 24)

Short Takes New Research Highlights the High Price of Futile Care Based on a study conducted by researchers from the University of California, 11 percent of patients in four intensive care units at large medical centers received care that the ICU physicians considered to be futile. Care that cost an estimated $2.6 million. For the study, the researchers asked 36 critical care specialists to complete a daily questionnaire over a three-month period that provided a list of reasons why the care being provided to patients could be called futile. Of the 1,136 patients studied: * .6 percent were perceived as receiving probable 8 futile treatment * 1 percent were perceived as receiving futile 1 treatment About 68 percent of the patients who received futile treatment died in the hospital, and 16 percent died within six months of discharge. The survivors remained in severely poor health. "This ought to be a wake-up call that patients are at times receiving advanced medical treatment that is not benefiting them," said the study's senior author, Dr. Neil S. Wenger, a professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. "It's costing patients in terms of a prolonged death, and the families in terms of acting on inappropriate hope." To learn more about the study, see JAMA Internal Medicine. * 1 percent were perceived as receiving futile 1 treatment only on the day they transitioned to palliative care. Choosing Wisely: A Free Online Resource to Help Reduce Futile Care Choosing Wisely is a national initiative to promote conversations between physicians and patients. But one of the important ways it accomplishes this is by providing evidence-based recommendations from U.S. specialty societies to help patients ask their doctors the right questions and avoid futile care. On the Choosing Wisely website (www.choosingwisely.org), there are now dozens of lists that provide recommendations from a wide range of specialty societies. Of particular note to members are the AAHPM Recommendations and the AGS Recommendations. Our Role-and Yours NHPCO is one of the groups which is partnering with Consumer Reports to help promote Choosing Wisely among consumers. As part of your organization's outreach, NHPCO hopes you will share this online resource with members of your community. 24 NHPCO NewsLine http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1735897 http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1735897 http://www.choosingwisely.org http://www.choosingwisely.org/doctor-patient-lists/american-academy-of-hospice-palliative-medicine/ http://www.choosingwisely.org/doctor-patient-lists/american-geriatrics-society/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NHPCO NewsLine December 2013

The Numbers Behind the Faces
A Message From Don
Data to Inform Your Future Work
Collective Advocacy
2014 MLC (display ad)
When Patients and Families are in Denial
Through the Eyes of a Hospice Volunteer
New Research Highlights the High Price of Futile Care
Hospice Hits Times Square
January Innovation Forum
REAL Award Honoring Hospice Staff
When Life Gets Serious (display ad)
ehospice USA (display ad)
Member News and Notes
Download Our Free NewsLine App (display ad)
Simione Consulting (display ad)
Lighthouse of Hope Fund… (display ad)
Compliance Tip
Plan Ahead for 2014 at This Year's Prices (display ad)
Links to Resources on the NHPCO Website
A Feel-Good Moment

NHPCO NewsLine December 2013