Literature Review

[United Kingdom] More than 100 people in Everest walking challenge BBC News; by Holly-Anne Langlois; Guernsy and Jake Wallace; 1/7/25 More than 100 people are taking part in a community fundraising walking challenge to help support a Guernsey hospice. The Everest Challenge sees teams or individuals walk up the Val De Terres hill 115 times in January, which is equivalent to the height of Mount Everest. Les Bourgs Hospice said the funding will help with its £1.8m annual running costs after a "challenging year" financially in 2024. Fundraising administrator Liz Stonebridge said: "We are very grateful for being chosen as the charity for the challenge this year." 

2025 begins with growth: NPHI adds Hospice of Hope and North Hawaii HospiceNational Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), Washington, DC; 1/7/25The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), the voice for nonprofit hospice and advanced illness care, is thrilled to commence 2025 by announcing the addition of two new outstanding members to our compassionate, mission-driven community: Hospice of Hope and North Hawaii Hospice.  ... Tom Koutsoumpas, NPHI CEO remarked: “We are thrilled to welcome Hospice of Hope and North Hawaii Hospice to our mission-driven, innovative community. Their commitment to delivering compassionate, high-quality, community-based care reflects the core values of NPHI, and we’re excited to join forces in advancing innovative care for patients and their families.” 

Top news stories of the month December 2024 - TCN podcast Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux; 1/8/25 In this episode of TCNtalks, Chris Comeaux, Mark Cohen, and Cordt Kassner discuss the top news stories in hospice and palliative care for December 2024. This episode marks the end of Mark’s two-year run of partnering with Chris to review the month’s top stories, with Cordt taking on that role going forward, along with his colleague at Hospice & Palliative Care Today, Joy Berger. Mark takes a deeper dive into three big news events in December, Cordt looks at the most-viewed articles from both December and all of 2024, and Chris, as usual, highlights articles of particular import to hospice C-Suites.  

Time flies. It's up to you to be a navigator. ~ Robert Orben

An AI chatbot outperformed physicians and physicians plus AI in a trial - What does that mean?JAMA; by Yulin Hswen, Rita Rubin; 12/27/24Jonathan Chen, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine, and Ethan Goh, MBBS, MS, a postdoctoral scholar, both at Stanford University, have collaborated for 2 years on studying the integration of human and artificial intelligence to enhance clinical decision-making. They published a randomized clinical trial in JAMA Network Open on October 28 that found that the use of a large language model (LLM) did not significantly enhance physicians’ diagnostic reasoning beyond that of conventional resources. Surprisingly, though, the LLM alone performed better than the physicians did with either the LLM or the conventional resources... In our pilot study, we thought the doctors who had access to the chatbot were going to do way better than the doctors who only had access to the usual internet - UpToDate, PubMed, Google, whatever. Then when we actually did the randomized study, that didn’t turn out to be the case, which is really weird. The chatbot by itself did surprisingly better than all of the doctors, including the doctors that accessed the chatbot. That flew in the face of the fundamental theorem of informatics: human plus computer will deliver better results than either would alone. That sounds so good, right? I’ve been saying it as the last line in my talks for years. I don’t say it anymore because results like these challenge it.Publisher's note: An interesting interview with the authors of JAMA's Large Language Model Influence on Diagnostic Reasoning article, which we ran 11/16/24.

HPNA and HPNF announce 2025 Board of Directors HPNA and HPNF; Press release; 1/2/25 The HPNA 2025 Board of Directors consists of:

Humana's 2024 in 10 headlinesBecker's Payer Issues; by Rylee Wilson; 12/31/24Here are the 10 biggest stories about Humana Becker's covered in 2024:

'Never waste a good crisis': The keys behind a Louisiana system's financial comebackBecker's Hospital CFO Report; by Alan Condon; 12/27/24Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, a 10-hospital system headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., achieved a $241 million turnaround in fiscal year 2024 under the leadership of CFO Mike Gleason, who told Becker's the feat was "a total team effort." By reimagining operational strategies, shifting from a holding company to an operating company model, and fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration, the 10-hospital system not only stabilized its finances but positioned itself for sustained growth. Mr. Gleason joined the Becker's Healthcare podcast to discuss the strategies that turned a financial crisis into an opportunity for sustainable growth and strengthened the health system's ability to reinvest in its people and future.

5 ‘Hidden Gem’ Palliative Care News Stories in 2024Palliative Care News; by Holly Vossel; 12/27/24Palliative care providers have explored diverse routes to improve quality and access to their services in 2024. Below are five under-the-radar stories that, while important, didn’t make our most read this year. The topics spanned evolving reimbursement trends, innovative care delivery partnerships and research examining the biggest barriers among undeserved populations.

St. Petersburg doctor coerced minors into producing child sex abuse material, feds sayTampa Bay Times; by Emily Wunderlich; 1/7/25 A St. Petersburg doctor who is the husband of the chief administrative officer of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County is facing charges that he coerced minors into producing child sexual abuse material and even directed a girl to hang herself, federal prosecutors announced this week. ... Court records show Leedy was indicted on Oct. 24 and arrested Dec. 20. He is being held in federal custody in Atlanta. He is facing three counts of production of child sexual abuse material and two counts of coercing or enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to life in federal prison.

Bride holds emotional dress reveal at hospital for her nana — fearing she wouldn’t be there on the big day Scoop; by Baisakhi Mishra; 1/4/25 Realizing her grandmother would miss her wedding, a bride-to-be makes her way to the hospital with a surprise that will warm your soul. Grandparents eagerly wait to see their grandchildren walk down the aisle. Perhaps, for them, it's like reliving a moment they've dreamed of since they first held their grandchildren in their arms. Through every milestone and memory, the grandparents patiently watch their grandchildren grow and dream about witnessing the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. Similarly, months before her wedding, Gianna Huber (@gianna on TikTok) wanted to make her ailing grandmother, Jo Ann, feel truly special. Fearing her grandma might not make it to her big day, Huber planned a heartfelt surprise—a special wedding dress reveal just for Jo Ann.

Seven trends in senior living that will define 2025 and beyond McKnights Senior Living; by Michele Hollerand, PhD, MBA; 1/6/25 Senior living is in the midst of a major transformation, and seven major trends have emerged as key drivers of the strategic plans adopted by boards across the country. Those trends will shape the way organizations position themselves for the future to capture a new customer base in 2025 and beyond.

Here’s what experts expect for hospitals in 2025Healthcare Brew; by Cassie McGrath; (emailed 1/6/25) 12/5/24Two experts talked with Healthcare Brew about possible upcoming trends in leadership development and health equity initiatives, and they’re also eyeing potential changes to federal regulations for drug discount programs as well as Medicare and Medicaid. Here’s what providers are anticipating for 2025, according to industry experts. [Including:]