Media Watch... 18 October Edition
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Media Watch ... 18 October Edition | Issue # 171 is distributed weekly to my colleagues who are active or have a special interest in hospice , palliative care and end-of-life issues – to help keep them abreast of current, emerging and related issues, and to also inform discussion and to Compilation of Media Watch 2008 , 2009, 2010 © encourage further inquiry. Compiled & Annotated by Barry R. Ashpole Physician-patient interaction: Scroll down to Specialist Publications and 'Do patients want a choice and does it work?' (p. 7), for an analysis published in the British Medical Journal . Canada Parliamentar y Committee on Palliative & Com passionate Care MP lauds Sault's palliative care program during fact -finding tour ONTARIO | Sault Star – 16 October 2010 – NDP [New Democratic Party] MP Joe Comartin, co - chair of the all-party Parliamen tary Committee on Palliative & Compassionate Care , was in Sault Ste. Marie ... to gather information about improving palliative care in Canada. What he saw impressed him: the city is home to one of fewer than 10 residential hospices in Canada, "at a substantially lower cost and, in many cases, a higher level of care, " said Comartin. Ninety per cent of people prefer to spend their last days at home; the reality is that three -quarters end up dying in hospital, at a cost of approximately $1,300 a day. Hospice is estimated to cost between $300 and $400. http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2803595 Hospice House cuts ties with SELHIN [South East Local Health Integration Network] ONTARIO | Bancroft This Week – 15 October 2010 – The board of directors of Hospice North Hastings is making a stand against the restraints of government funding that have been experienced in the organization , a bold statement against the South East Local Health Integration Network (S ELHIN). After receiving partial funding for 13 years from the SELHIN in order to provide different programs through the current Hospice House location, the Board has decided to refuse continuing on their funding agreement with the provincial body, losing a s a result $52,000 from their annual budget. http://www.bancroftthisweek.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2799955 Media Watch posted on Palliative Care Network-e Website Palliative Care Network-e (PCN-e) promotes education amongst health care providers in places around the world where the knowledge gap may be wider than the technology gap ... to foster teaching and interaction, and the exchange of ideas, information and ma terials. http://www.pcn-e.com/community/ pg. 1 Canadian researchers put a cost on where you die NATIONAL POST | Onlin e report – 12 October 2010 – Researchers from the University of Alberta have found that when heart failure patients pass away in an acute care hospital the cost is more than double than for those who die elsewhere, such as at home or a palliative care faci lity. This is the first study to examine heal th -care costs – including inpatient, outpati ent, physician, and drug costs – at the end-of-life among heart failure patients in Canada. 1 "End-of-life is a big issue, not only in C anada but in the western world, " said researcher and epidemiologist Padma Kaul in a statement. http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/10/12/ new-canadian-study-puts-a-cost -on-where- you-die/ ALBERTA | Vancouver Sun – 12 October 2010 – 'Hospitalization costs explode with termin al heart patients...' A new study examining the high cost of dying in Alberta 1 – the f irst of its kind in Canada – suggests the final weeks of the lives of terminal cardiac patients cost the health system more than five times the per -capita cost of health care in the province, most of it due to hospitalization. http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Hospitalization+costs+explode+with+terminal+ heart+patients+Alberta+study/3660964/story.html 1. ARCHIVES OF INTERNAL MEDICINE | Online article – 11 October 2010 – 'Resource use in the last 6 months of life among patients with heart failure in Canada. ' The authors conclude that resource use in the last six month s of life among patients with heart failure in Alberta is changing, with a reduction in hospitalizations, in-hospital deaths, and an increase in the use of o utpatient services. However, end of life costs are substantial and continue to increase. http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/archinternmed.2010.365 Of related interest: ARCHIVES OF INTERNAL MEDICINE | Online article – 11 October 2010 – 'Resource use in the last 6 months of life among Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure, 2000-2007. ' Among Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure, health care resource use at the end of life increased over time with higher rates of intensive care and higher costs. However, the use of hospice services also increased markedly. http://archinte.ama -assn.org/cgi/content/short/archinternmed.2010.371 Assisted (or facilitated)ated) death Representative sample of recent news media coverage: QUEBEC | Montreal Gazette – 15 October 2010 – 'Euthanasia is 'killing,' McGill ethicist tells Quebec hearings.' When religious values were more important in Quebec, it was easier to make the case against euthanasia, McGill University ethicist Margaret Somerville said ... before provincial hearings in Montreal. "Thou shalt not kill " was pretty much the end of the de bate, Somerville said. Now in a largely secular society, euthanasia and assisted suicide remain "mora lly wrong ." She prefers the term "killing," as she considers euthanasia and assisted suicide to be euphemisms. http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/kill+each+other+ethicist+tells+euthanasia+hearing/3672871 /story.html ONTARIO | National Post – 12 October 2010 – 'Exit plans for those who 'don't want to linger. '' This was Canada's third "Safe Exit " meeting and workshop, where [euthanasia advocate] Dr. Philip Nitschke advises adults to develop an "exit plan" – and then offers specifics on end -of-life options. http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/Exit+plans+those+want+linger/3668854/story.html Barr y R. Ash pole My involvement in palliative and end -of-life care dates from 1985. As a communications specialist, I 've been involved in or responsible for a broad range of initiatives at the community, regional, provincial and national level. My work focuses primarily on advocacy, capacity building and policy development in addressing issues specific to those living with a life-threatening or terminal illness – both patients and families. In recent years, I've applied my experience and knowledge to education, developing and teaching on -line and in-class courses, and facilitating issue specific workshops, for frontline care providers. pg. 2 U.S.A. End-of-life care costs continue to climb upward REUTERS HEALTH | Online report – 14 October 2010 – Health care costs at the end of life show no signs of leveling off, according to new research from the U.S. and Canada published in the Archives of Internal Medicine .1 But other trends over the past decade, including a sharp increase in use of hospice services, could point the way toward bringing these costs down while improving patient care. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69C3KY20101014 BLOOMBERG BUSINESS WEEK | Online report – 12 October 2010 – 'Earlier hospice care urged for terminal prostate cancer.' Most American men who are dying of prostate cancer are slow to take advantage of the end-of-life services available through hospice care, new research suggests. 1 Although about half of such patients do turn to hospice care eventually, the study team found that most wait ... – often just a week or two before their death – before enrolling in a hospice program. http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/644252.html 1. ARCHIVES OF INTERNAL MEDICINE | Online article – 11 October 2010 – 'Hospice use and high-intensity care in men dying of prostate cancer.' The authors sought to characterize hospice use by men dying of prostate cancer and to compare the use of high-intensity care between those who did or did not enrol in hospice. They concluded that the proportion of individuals using hospice is increasing, but the timing of hospice referral remains poor. Those who enrol in hospice are less likely to receive high-intensity end-of-life care. http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/archinternmed.2010.394 Hospice dogs MINNESOTA | Echo Press – 13 October 2010 – Hospice of Douglas County will add another facet of "compassionate care" to its program – therapy dogs. Registered therapy dogs can provide comfort, support and animal companionship to hospice patients and their families. It has been proven that the sight of a dog and the touch of their fur can often bring peace and joy to those patients whose life once included animals. The physical contact has a calming effect and dogs have the ability to bring diversion from physical discomfort, decrease anxiety and provide expanded opportunities for laughter and joy. http://www.echopress.com/event/article/id/78814/ From Media Watch dated 26 April 2010: BRITISH COLUMBIA | Vancouver Sun – 20 April 2010 – 'Four legs, a tail and nothing but love.' Some working dogs are bred to carry packs: Poppy's burden is weightier. She shoulders grief. http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Four+legs+tail+nothing+love/2927348/story.html Terminally ill get cancer screenings, despite lack of benefit NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO | Online report – 12 October 2010 – All those reflexive pap smears, mammograms, and prostate cancer screening tests are controversial enough these days. But, one thing's pretty clear: They don't really help patients already dying of other cancers. That's the conclusion of a report just out from the specialists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. The reasons for continued screening varied, according to the article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.1 The strongest predictor of who got screened post- cancer diagnosis was if they had a history of screening tests before diagnosis.