Advance care planning

• KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  TeamHealth, the leading physician practice in the United States, today announced the creation of TeamACO, an accountable care organization dedicated to meeting the distinct healthcare needs of more than 17,000 post-acute care patients across the U.S.
  Approved in January by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as part of the Medicare Shared Savings Program, TeamACO’s focus is collaborative care coordination in post-acute care.
• “TeamACO strongly advances TeamHealth’s post-acute care services and furthers our commitment to unsurpassed clinical quality,” Leif Murphy, TeamHealth chief executive officer said.
• “A pioneer in the post-acute care setting, TeamACO aligns the rewards and incentives of all who contribute to quality care and assists Medicare beneficiaries in getting the care they need in the most appropriate setting,” Darren Swenson, MD, MSHQSM, CPE, president of TeamHealth Post-Acute Care and TeamACO emphasized.
• “The addition of TeamACO to the framework of current post-acute care services will enhance the success of clinicians in post-acute facilities nationwide.

• This program is the first of its kind, combining clinical care and research efforts to create a primary care home for LGBTQIA+ older adults.
• This program is the first of its kind, combining clinical care and research efforts toward LGBTQIA+ older adults.
• "Jefferson is proud to be at the forefront of delivering inclusive, compassionate primary and gender-affirming care for LGBTQIA+ older individuals.
• Pride at the Jefferson Center for Healthy Aging combines best practices in LGBTQIA+ inclusive, geriatrics-informed primary care with advanced care needed by many members of these communities, including gender-affirming care, HIV care, and sensitive advance care planning.

• Cigna Healthcare offers a $0 premium plan in every state we serve, ensuring that we can meet our customers' unique budgets, health and lifestyles."
• Supplemental options: Cigna Healthcare's Medicare Supplement plans are available in 48 states and the District of Columbia.
• Cigna also offers companion products for Medicare customers, such as standalone dental plans, and a combined plan including dental, vision, and hearing.
• The Cigna names, logos, and marks, including THE CIGNA GROUP and CIGNA HEALTHCARE are owned by Cigna Intellectual Property, Inc. Subsidiaries of The Cigna Group contract with Medicare to offer Medicare Advantage HMO and PPO plans and Part D Prescription Drug Plans (PDP) in select states, and with select State Medicaid programs.

• Palliative care aims to prevent and relieve physical, social, emotional, spiritual and existential distress.
• Palliative care also supports family caregivers during the disease journey and bereavement phase.
• It is not just for people who are about to die and seeking palliative care does not mean “giving up”.

Not just for someone’s final days

• The full benefit of this holistic approach can only be realised if people are referred early to palliative care – ideally from the time they are diagnosed with a terminal illness.
• Unfortunately, this rarely happens and palliative care tends to blur with end-of-life care.

Palliative care can involve difficult conversations

• Palliative care can be provided at home, hospital, hospice or residential aged care facility, depending on the preference and circumstances of patients and their family carers.
• Patient preferences for care and what matters most to them are discussed with their doctor or other health professionals and with their loved ones with advance care planning.
• These discussions can include information on their preferred place of care, preferred place of death, personal care needs such as dietary preferences and religious and spiritual practices.

How palliative care delivery has changed

• But research indicates a solely clinical model of palliative care (mainly symptom management funded through the health system) is inadequate to address the complex aspects of death, dying, loss and grief.
• A public health palliative care approach views the community as an equal partner in the long and complex task of providing quality health care at the end of someone’s life.
• It promotes conversations about patients’ and families’ goals of care, what matters to them, their needs and wishes, minimising barriers to a “good death”, and supporting the family post-bereavement.
• Read more:
  Passed away, kicked the bucket, pushing up daisies – the many ways we don't talk about death

Tailored to need

• Palliative care should be tailored to each person, rather than a one-size-fits-all clinical model that doesn’t respect autonomy and choice.
• Palliative care hospitalisations have increased in recent years compared to all hospitalisations, with 65% of such admissions ending with the patient dying in hospital.