National Consensus Project Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, 4th Edition

Background
In January 2017, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation awarded the National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care (NCHPC) and the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation a two-year grant to update the National Consensus Project (NCP) Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care to be inclusive for all people with serious illness, regardless of setting, diagnosis, prognosis, or age.

Building on the success of the NCP Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Care, 3rd edition (2013), this two-year project involves national stakeholder organizations, including representatives from a broad range of care settings, accrediting bodies, payers, and community services organizations. Previous versions of the NCP Guidelines were more applicable to specialist level palliative care within hospital and hospice settings, and the new NCP Guidelines will be broadened to encompass palliative care delivery by all clinicians caring for the seriously ill in all care settings.

NCP Stakeholder Strategic Directions Summit

To launch this effort, a NCP Stakeholder Strategic Directions Summit was held June 29-30, 2017 to bring together key national organizations to discuss and define essential elements of quality primary and specialty palliative care services in the community. The Summit was attended by 58 representatives from 43 national/regional organizations, that covered a broad range of care settings, provider associations, accrediting bodies, payers, and community services organizations.

The Stakeholder Strategic Directions Summit was the first major step to solicit input for the NCP Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, 4th edition (2018).  A NCP Stakeholder Summit Summary Report is available to download that captures key themes, considerations, and ideas discussed during the Summit.

What's New and Different
 Based on the feedback from the Stakeholder Summit, each of the eight domains for the 4^th edition will include guidelines and criteria re:

• Care coordination
• Caregiving
• Care transitions
• Communication
• Comprehensive assessment
• Cultural inclusiveness

Also, clinical and operational implications, practice examples, evidence-based references, and a list of specific tools/resources will be provided for each domain.
In addition, a systematic review with a formal grading of the evidence is being added to the original project scope to align with the criteria required for inclusion in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) National Guideline Clearinghouse™.
 
Project Timeline
With the addition of the systematic review, the publication date for the National Consensus Project (NCP) Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, 4th Edition, is set for fall 2018.  To stay informed about the latest updates with the 4^th edition, visit www.nationalcoalitionhpc.org/ncp-guidelines-2018.

National Consensus Project Leadership

NCP Steering Committee and Writing Workgroup:

• Includes representatives from nine member organizations of the National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care and representatives from seven other national organizations, and subject matter experts.

Steering Committee Co-Chairs:

• Betty Ferrell, PhD, MA, FAAN, FPCN (HPNA representative)
• Martha Twaddle, MD, FACP, FAAHPM (AAHPM representative)

Writing Workgroup Co-Chairs:

• Tracy Schroepfer, PhD (SWPHN representative)
• Stacie Sinclair, MPP (CAPC representative)

NCHPC Executive Director: Amy Melnick, MPA NCP Project Director: Gwynn Sullivan, MSN NCP Writer/Editor: Kathy Brandt, MS NCP Coordinator: Cozzie King NCP Research Assistant: Vivian Miller, LMSW

Please direct any questions regarding the NCP to info@nationalcoalitionhpc.org.

By Gwynn B. Sullivan, MSN
Project Director
National Consensus Project

 
 

NCHPP & MyNHPCO – Your Connection to the Hospice & Palliative Care Community

When I was working in the hospice provider community as a development and communications professional, I was eager to find peers in similar hospice organizations to network with. I worked at a small, rural, non-profit and was a department of one.

I was thrilled to learn that NHPCO had a group called the National Council of Hospice and Palliative Care Professionals or NCHPP. I was even more excited to learn that the online networking community MyNHPCO existed, giving me the ability to participate in discussions and learn more about what my peers were working on in their own organizations.  I had the ability to connect with others who worked for similar sized organizations and dealt with the same challenges and opportunities that I had dealt with.

When I attended my first MLC, I participated in the NCHPP networking lunch on the first day of the conference. It was so great to meet like-minded professionals in person, and share ideas and struggles.

Now that I’m working on the “other side,” I’m learning more about how valuable NCHPP and MyNHPCO are to our members. NCHPP is community of 14,000 strong and continues to grow every day. If you aren’t connected, what are you waiting for?

NCHPP
NCHPP is a collaborative of 15 discipline-specific groups advancing end-of-life care within their discipline and through interdisciplinary collaboration. NHPCO members can choose a primary and secondary section.

MyNHPCO
NHPCO’s online professional networking community connects you with other hospice and palliative care professionals. You will find a community for your NCHPP sections as well as several others that might interest you. You can share your professional expertise and find solutions to challenges through discussion boards, direct messages, and a comprehensive resource library.

One of the most exciting features of NCHPP is the free monthly chat opportunities. Most NCHPP sections hold a monthly chat on a topic relevant to the section.  Chats are coordinated by the section steering committee and are led by experts in the topic they are instructing. In 2017 the NCHPP community held 82 chats with over 10,400 attendees. Chat topics included: 

• Ethical Considerations in Bereavement Care (Bereavement Professionals) 
• The Top 3 Concerns Families Have About Their Dying Loved One (Certified Nursing Assistant) 
• How to Share Your Stories: Merging Fundraising and Human Interest (Development, PR, Marketing) 
• Building an Integrative Program Utilizing Evidenced-Based Practice and Outcome Measures (Integrative and Rehabilitative Therapies) 
• FAQs & Tips Regarding the HIS and Hospice Quality Reporting Program (Quality Assessment/Performance Improvement) 
• “Why is there a social worker on my couch?” Communicating Our Role to Patients, Families, and Colleagues (Social Work) 
• Soul Candy: Stories, Readings, and Blessings for Centerings and Team Meetings (Spiritual Caregiver) 
• Improving Staff/Volunteer Relationships (Volunteer/Volunteer Management)

Even though you are encouraged to designate only a primary and secondary NCHPP section in your member record in the official database (this is done through the “my account” prompt you may access when logged into nhpco.org}, you can attend chats and follow the activity in other sections through MyNHPCO. If you think there are other sections that might have information relevant to your job or would be of interest, sign up to be a part of that community on MyNHPCO and you will receive chat notifications.  You can sign up for as many MyNHPCO communities as you wish.

I hope you will take advantage of this extremely valuable NHPCO member benefit. Connecting with peers who understand your profession and are eager to share and develop ideas together is priceless. Together we are building a stronger hospice and palliative care community! Join the conversation today.

Amanda M. Bow

Director, Communications, NHPCO

 

NHPCO Welcomes Alex Azar as HHS Secretary

NHPCO congratulates Alex Azar on his Senate confirmation as United States Secretary of Health and Human Services this week.

“The appointment of Alex Azar puts a seasoned leader at the helm of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and NHPCO looks forward to working collaboratively with Secretary Azar and his staff to ensure that all Americans have access to person-centered, family-oriented, interdisciplinary care – something that has been a hallmark of hospice care for four decades,” said Edo Banach, NHPCO president and CEO.

Secretary Azar’s experience with hospice, referenced in his nomination hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Nov. 29 of last year, will prove an invaluable asset as he leads the department whose mission is to enhance and protect the well-being of all Americans. The hospice and palliative care community appreciate his understanding of quality care during this important period and looks forward to working to advance efforts to ensure all people receive the right care at the right time.

“Given the hospice and palliative care community’s collective experience of providing interdisciplinary, person-centered care, we firmly believe that we can work with HHS to help address issues facing health care delivery and point to solutions from our experience,” said Banach.

Secretary Alex Azar

NHPCO and NAHC Collaborate

NHPCO and the National Association for Home Care & Hospice are joining forces to bring the provider community an important new Webinar. 

Fraud and Abuse in Home Care and Hospice

February 21, 2018; 2:00 - 3:30 pm ET

Online registration is now open.

Do you understand your risk areas? Are you prepared for review?

Don't find your organization in the headlines. Hear from top legal experts in this Webinar collaboration between the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. Understand fraud and abuse, the audit process, steps to prevent allegations of fraud and abuse and response to audits if they occur. Lessons learned from providers that have experienced audits will be shared. 

Most importantly, guidance on how to prepare for additional scrutiny and audits and what actions responsible leaders should take will be discussed in detail.

Facilitated by: 

•    Edo Banach, President and CEO, NHPCO
•    Jason Bring, Partner, Arnall Golden Gregory, LLC
•    Bill Dombi, President, NAHC
•    Howard Young, Partner, Morgan Lewis & Bockius

CE/CME credit available at no charge for Compliance Officers, Nurses and Physicians.

*This Webinar is not part of NHPCO's Webinar Packages. 

Welcoming New Board Members in 2018

NHPCO is proud to welcome four new individuals to the organization’s Board of Directors. Joining the NHPCO board for three year terms are:

• Samira Beckwith, ACSW, LCSW, FACHE, President and CEO, Hope Hospice and Community Services, Fort Myers, Florida 
• Sandy Kuhlman, BSN, Executive Director, Hospice Services, Inc., Phillipsburg, Kansas
• Balu Natarajan, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care, Rosemont, Illinois
•  Stacie Pinderhughes, MD, Medical Director, Optumcare, Complex Care Management, Phoenix, Arizona

Jan Jones, of The Elizabeth Hospice, continues in her second year as board-chair. Joining Jones on the board’s executive committee are Gregory Wood, vice-chair, of Hospice of the Ozarks; Regina Bodnar, secretary, of Carroll Hospice; David Williams, treasurer, of VITAS Healthcare; and Edo Banach, NHPCO president and CEO. Additional members of the executive committee are Suzi Johnson of Sharp HospiceCare, Rafael Sciullo of Empath Health/Suncoast Hospice, and Norman McRae of Caris HealthCare, LP.

“NHPCO thanks all the new and existing board members for their dedicated service on behalf of our nation’s hospice and palliative care provider community as well as the millions of patients and family caregivers that benefit from the care that our diverse membership provides. Board members come from programs that vary in size and structure, serve urban and rural areas, and represent single-site and multi-state providers. We all share a common goal to advance interdisciplinary, person-centered care to all those with or at risk of serious illness,” said Edo Banach, president and CEO of NHPCO. 

NHPCO extends special thanks to the board members who concluded service in 2017: Linda Todd, Kenneth Zeri, SueAnn Reynolds, and Lori Bishop.

A list of NHPCO’s full board of directors is available in the “About NHPCO” section of the organization’s website. 

 

NHPCO Meets with CMS Administrator Seema Verma

Written by Judi Lund Person, Vice President, Regulatory and Compliance

On Wednesday, December 13, NHPCO’s President and CEO Edo Banach and I attended a productive meeting with CMS Administrator Seema Verma. Hospice Action Network board members Mark Murray, a hospice provider in South Bend, Indiana in Seema Verma’s home state, and Angie Sells, from AseraCare, a multi-state hospice provider attended the meeting as well and eloquently represented the hospice provider voice. The planned agenda for our meeting with Administrator Verma included a quick review on facts about hospice, our response to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) request for information and progress on the Medicare Care Choices Model (MCCM), the impact on hospice when Medicaid managed care is in place, and concerns related to  Hospice Compare.

Pictured at the NHPCO office pre-meeting are NHPCO Vice President of Regulatory and Compliance Judi Lund Person, AseraCare President Angie Sells, NHPCO President & CEO Edo Banach, and Center for Hospice Care President & CEO Mark Murray.

On Wednesday afternoon, we made our way to the Hubert Humphrey building in downtown DC to meet with Administrator Verma.  She was joined by five members of the CMS staff, representing both the Center for Medicare and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.  We began with a few quick data facts about hospice but quickly moved to a robust discussion about innovation, where we shared why the hospice and palliative care patient-centered approach is exactly in line with the Administrator’s goals for patient-centered care.  Verma was particularly interested in how hospices can be involved with patients earlier in their disease process, and we discussed the need for care navigation and coordination and how hospices are already involved in that process.

The meeting with Administrator Verma (center) was productive and informative.

We also had a discussion about the MCCM and talked about some of the limitations of the model, as well as what the learning has been.  We commented that the supportive services offered in the MCCM model are exactly what many patients need before they elect hospice.  Our hope is to build on that learning as we consider additional models.     

It was clear from our discussions that innovation is a high priority issue for the Administrator.  Our visit highlighted the skills and experiences of hospice providers to participate in models for seriously ill patients and develop new models to ensure that patients and their families have the care and supportive services they need.  We agreed to continue our discussions with Administrator Verma and CMS staff at the meeting. It was a productive and useful meeting, and we look forward to continuing to build upon the strong working relationship between NHPCO and CMS. 

How to keep #HospiceMonth alive all year long

National Hospice and Palliative Care month may be over, but the momentum generated from this year’s #HospiceMonth doesn’t have to end. All month long, the hospice and palliative care community has championed #HospiceAwareness embracing this year’s hospice month theme “It’s about how you live.” This celebration of hospice care was made “sharable” on several social media platforms and has created quite a ripple. This stream of information has encouraged people to learn more about the services provided by hospice and palliative care and for those who are unaware of the hospice philosophy to gain valuable understanding that may one day make an impact in their own lives.

Throughout the month of November, NHPCO shared posts intended to encourage everyone to learn more about the many benefits of hospice and palliative care fostering a deeper understanding of what it means to live despite facing a serious or life-limiting illness. We know many of you took part in this #HospiceMonth messaging and that you continue to spread awareness and understanding with your own creative content throughout the year. Your efforts make a difference and we thank you

I don’t know what Dame Cicely Saunders would have thought of Facebook, but for a woman who stopped at nothing to spread the philosophy of hospice and who found unprecedented means to open the first hospice, St. Christopher’s Hospice to the UK (celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year), I can only imagine Cicely Saunders would be delighted to see the pictures and information that has been shared on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, just to name a few. 

Social media has a reach in every city, state, and country in our world and we encourage you to keep the hashtags #Hospice, #PalliativeCare, #hpm in your posts. Here are a few tips that could also be  of help when creating shareable content for hospice and palliative care throughout the year:

• Concentrate on Increasing Daily Posts and Updates
  -  Ensuring that your posts and updates have a good chance to be seen by your target audience is an integral part of a content strategy.
• Share Content More Than Once
• Gain more traffic, reaching people in different time zones and sharing content with people who’ve followed you since your last post. 
• Keep an eye on NHPCO’s Caringinfo.org and MomentsOfLife.org for resources added throughout the year. 
• Create Google alerts for “hospice” and “palliative care.”
  -  Share news stories about the community that would be of interest to your followers.

We thank you for taking part in #HospiceMonth and for raising #HospiceAwareness. We hope you continue to add to the ‘wave’ you have created on social media!