Burdensome End-of-Life Transitions Found Common among Nursing Home Patients with Advanced Dementia

Nearly one in five nursing home residents with advanced cognitive impairment experiences burdensome — and often avoidable — transitions in health care settings near the end of life, with the rate of such transitions varying greatly by state, according to a report published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Physicians Urged to Ensure Access to Hospice for an Often 'Invisible' Population

Nursing homes are the permanent site of care for more than 1.5 million adults in the U.S., and the site of death for approximately one-third of the population. Physicians play a pivotal role in helping this often “invisible” and vulnerable population receive needed palliative and end-of-life care, according to the authors of an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Time-Limited Trials Can Help Patients and Families Shift Focus to Hospice Care

In the care of seriously ill patients who may be nearing the end of life, physicians and families can be faced with the decision of whether or not to initiate disease-directed interventions in clinical circumstances in which the outcome is uncertain. A possible way forward in this challenging situation may be the use of a time-limited trial (TLT), according to an article recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.