Fruad and abuse: the hospice perspective.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.↗
Biomedical subjects
K Colburn
Publications and source records attributed to K Colburn.
The hospice phenomenon. In its second decade under Medicare.
In the decade since the passage of the Medicare Hospice Benefit in 1983, hospice has gained acceptance and status in the community. What lies in store for hospice in its second decade?
Burnout, Professional↗
Planning for hospice services. Clinical and personnel issues in providing interdisciplinary services for the terminally ill.
The development of hospice services requires consideration of the patient and family, respect for the strengths of different disciplines, a belief in holistic care, and attention to the needs of staff.
Holistic Health↗
B-adrenergic receptor stimulation increases anti-DNA antibody production in MRL/1 pr mice.
To gain insight into a role for excessive B-adrenergic receptor stimulation in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, MRL/1 pr mice were chronically injected with isoproterenol. The mean change of serum antibody levels after one month of treatment was higher in the isoproterenol treated mice than in controls (anti-ssDNA, p less than 0.05; anti-nDNA, p less than 0.04; and antiguanosine antibodies, p less than 0.03) without significant differences in serum IgG levels. Additionally, mean serum creatinine levels were higher and glomerulonephritis more severe in the isoproterenol treated group. Our findings provide the first evidence linking aberrant B-adrenergic receptor activities, serum anti-DNA antibodies, and end-organ pathology in an animal model of lupus nephritis.
Animals↗
Effect of corticosteroids on serum antinuclear antibodies in man.
The effect of prednisone on serum levels of IgG antibodies to viral and bacterial antigens was measured and compared to its effect on IgG antibodies to nuclear antigens in 8 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Prednisone at 15-80 mg/day (mean 55 mg/day) for 14-30 days (mean 19 days) lowered the serum IgG by an average of 22% (p less than 0.005). An even greater reduction in IgG antinuclear antibodies occurred (mean 43%, p less than 0.001) including responses to double stranded DNA, single stranded DNA, and the nucleosides, adenosine, guanosine, cytidine and thymine riboside. In contrast, there was no alteration in serum IgG antibody levels to influenza virus vaccine and pneumococcal vaccine antigens. These results suggest that prednisone has a selective effect on the expression of autoimmunity which may, in part, be responsible for its clinical efficacy in systemic lupus erythematosus.
Adolescent↗
Hospice care: mapping the message.
A study into the community image of Hospice of Central Iowa (HCI) was undertaken to guide the organization in making future decisions about its position in the health care market. Consumer perceptions are important if the hospice seeks steady growth in a market where potential consumers have an intense personal involvement with the service. Using a perceptual mapping technique, HCI was able to quantify and rank the importance of certain factors in influencing choice of a care setting for a terminally-ill person. It also enabled HCI to measure whether the message it had been promoting in its public relations activities was being received by consumers. The mapping techniques allowed HCI to compare how it is perceived with how other competitive health care providers, namely, hospitals, nursing homes and home health agencies are perceived by these same consumers. Finally, the technique offers information to the hospice as to the type of image development it must pursue to appeal to potential consumers making choices about care for terminally-ill people.
Adolescent↗
Despite the continuum of care, is hospice terminal?
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Continuity of Patient Care↗