Penn Medicine News: Machine Learning-Triggered Reminders Improve End-of-Life Care for Patients with Cancer

Penn Medicine News: Machine Learning-Triggered Reminders Improve End-of-Life Care for Patients with Cancer. “Electronic nudges delivered to health care clinicians based on a machine learning algorithm that predicts mortality risk quadrupled rates of conversations with patients about their end-of-life care preferences… The study also found that the machine learning-triggered reminders significantly decreased use of aggressive chemotherapy and other systemic therapies at end of life.”

CNET: How families are giving a fantastic trip to loved ones in hospice

CNET: How families are giving a fantastic trip to loved ones in hospice. “VR may get a bad rap as a once-hot tech trend that failed to live up to expectations, but companies haven’t given up on it. Facebook last month released the $400 Oculus Quest, which CNET editor Scott Stein called the best thing he’s tried this year. And virtual reality has made headway outside of the consumer world. For example, using VR for hospice care — as a way to bring a larger world to people who’ve found themselves limited to a room, or just a bed — is beginning to catch on with care providers. “

CMS: CMS Releases Hospice Compare Website to Improve Consumer Experiences, Empower Patients

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): CMS Releases Hospice Compare Website to Improve Consumer Experiences, Empower Patients. “The Hospice Compare site allows patients, family members, caregivers, and healthcare providers to compare hospice providers based on important quality metrics, such as the percentage of patients that were screened for pain or difficult or uncomfortable breathing, or whether patients’ preferences are being met. Currently, the data on Hospice Compare is based on information submitted by approximately 3,876 hospices.”

New Digital Archive: Hospice Care in Ireland

Now available: a digital archive chronicling hospice care in Ireland. “Famous people who feature in the archive as supporters and backers include Maeve Binchy, Seamus Heaney, Gabriel Byrne, Bono and Miriam O’Callaghan. It includes letters from Mother Teresa of Calcutta to Dr Redmond dealing with a proposal that her nuns might set up an Aids hospice in Dublin.”