For years I put off completing an advance directive. Even after 30 years in the social work field, I would discuss the importance of this with individuals and their family…
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The Triple Aim framework came about in 2007. The goal – improve the health of a population, enhance the patient experience, and reduce per capita health care costs. The Triple Aim was…
Patient Safety Issues with End-of-life Care Patient safety is too often an issue in end-of-life care. This is in part due to the high intensity care delivered towards the end…
Can you guess what the third leading cause of death in the United States is? Answer: medical errors. According to a Johns Hopkins study, over 250,000 people die annually due to…
February is National Cancer Prevention Month, a designated time to shed light on the importance of promoting overall health, and utilizing preventative care to diagnose and treat cancer early on….
Advance care planning refers to a lifelong process that enables patients to make important decisions regarding their future health care, in the event they are no longer capable of communicating…
Can you give me a brief overview of Mind My Heath and how it came about? In 2015, we at The Carolinas Center for Hospice and End of Life Care (TCC) identified a significant…
Back in April, it was former First Lady Barbara Bush. Just the past few days, Arizona Senator John McCain. Comfort care, discontinue medical treatment, and other similar phrases have been…
By Ryan Van Wert, MD Advance care planning (ACP) is a thoughtful way for individuals to document their wishes for end-of-life care. It’s a proactive step that helps people tell…
By Frank Wang, PhD In April 2017, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) announced their Patient Matching Algorithm Challenge. Although Vynca did not have a generally available standalone patient matching…
By Ryan Van Wert, MD The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has spent many years developing and refining new reimbursement models with the goal of improving quality and…
The National POLST Paradigm is a voluntary approach to end of life planning that emphasizes eliciting, documenting and honoring the treatment preferences of seriously ill or frail individuals using a portable…
My grandfather was the patriarch of his family, at the center of a tightknit Lebanese immigrant community in Toronto, Canada. Some of my warmest childhood memories are from Sundays at…
GeriPal John’s Story Since his college days, John was always a runner. Now at age 65, limping with arthritis, his orthopedic surgeon has recommended a left knee replacement. John completed…
Providing high quality emergency care to individuals with serious, life-limiting illness starts with an understanding of their treatment goals and care preferences above all else. Speaking as a critical care physician,…
