News Briefs
High Court Rules Residents Can Sue Publicly Owned Nursing Homes
The U.S. Supreme Court preserved the ability of people to sue for civil rights violations under an 1871 law as it rejected a bid to prevent an Indiana nursing home resident's family from suing over his care at a government-run facility. The justices, in a 7-2 ruling written by liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, upheld a lower court's ruling that allowed the wife of Gorgi Talevski, a nursing home resident diagnosed with dementia, to sue Indiana municipal corporation Health and Hospital Corp of Marion County over claims it violated his rights.
(Source: Reuters, 2023-06-08)
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Hospice Leaders, Lawmakers Meet to Address Program Integrity
Hospice leaders and lawmakers are meeting on Capitol Hill to address the pressing issue of program integrity, among other policy priorities. Driving these conversations are the multiple reports of unethical or illegal practices among hundreds of newly licensed hospices, particularly among new companies popping up in California, Texas, Nevada, and Arizona.
(Source: Hospice News, 2023-06-07)
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LTC Providers Seek Immigration Reform to Alleviate Staff Shortages
Just weeks ago, long-term care providers were rallying behind the Dignity Act, a bipartisan, wide-ranging piece of immigration reform that would add opportunities for guest workers while also tackling border security. But after that bill failed to drum up much excitement among lawmakers (or even a single new co-sponsor), long-term care advocates are looking for a new angle that might still lead to workforce changes this year.
(Source: McKnight's Long-Term Care News, 2023-06-08)
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Doctors Using ChatGPT to Improve Communications with Patients
On Nov. 30 last year, Microsoft and OpenAI released the first free version of ChatGPT, and within 72 hours doctors were using the artificial intelligence-powered chatbot. Most surprising to Dr. Peter Lee, the corporate Vice President for research and incubations at Microsoft, though, was a use he had not anticipated -- doctors were asking ChatGPT to help them communicate with patients in a more compassionate way.
(Source: The New York Times, 2023-06-12)
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Administration to Impose Inflation Penalties on 43 Drugs
The Biden administration announced it would impose inflation penalties on 43 drugs for the third quarter of 2023, having fined 27 earlier this year, in a move it said would lower costs for older Americans by as much as $449 per dose. Drugmakers hiked the price of these 43 drugs by more than the rate of inflation and are required to pay the difference of those medicines to Medicare, the federal health program for Americans over age 65.
(Source: Reuters, 2023-06-09)
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National Pharmacies Seeking Continued Bigger Role in Healthcare
Pharmacies that carved out new lines of business during the pandemic are pushing to expand their reach amid a broader effort to rethink the healthcare consumer experience. National retail pharmacy brands like CVS and Walgreens have already been making massive investments in primary care delivery in the push to redefine the clinical experience.
(Source: Axios, 2023-06-08)
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Improving Care and Access to Nurses Act Would Expand NP Authority
A bill in Congress that would authorize nurse practitioners to order cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, certify when patients with diabetes need therapeutic shoes, ensure NPs' patients are represented in the beneficiary attribution process for the Medicare Shared Savings Program, refer patients for medical nutrition therapy, certify and recertify a patient's terminal illness for hospice eligibility, perform all mandatory examinations in skilled nursing facilities, and more, has received the endorsement of more than 200 nursing organizations. A letter signed by the organizations was submitted by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners to the House Ways and Means Committee to show support for H.R. 2713 -- also known as the Improving Care and Access to Nurses Act.
(Source: Medical Economics, 2023-06-09)
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Growing Number of Physicians Taking Gig Approach to Employment
Similar to what the nursing industry is seeing, a growing group of U.S. physicians are taking a gig approach to employment and ditching the traditional path of working for a health system or practice. The Wall Street Journal cited data from medical-staffing company CHG Healthcare that found about seven percent of the nation's physician workforce, or 50,000, were practicing through temporary assignments, representing a 90 percent increase since 2015, and largely driven by burnout.
(Source: Becker's Hospital Review, 2023-06-07)
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Survey Finds 40% of Health Workers Experienced Violence at Work
A recent survey found that 40 percent of healthcare workers had experienced workplace violence in the past two years. Healthcare organizations carry a heavy workplace violence burden, with about three-quarters of U.S. workplace assaults occurring in healthcare settings, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
(Source: HealthLeaders Media, 2023-06-08)
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