Literature Review

Effectiveness and impact of telehealth-integrated palliative care for persons living with dementia and their caregiversTelemedicine & e-Health; by Brooke Worster, Lizabeth Kaminoff, Amina Mason, Laura Pontiggia, Kayla Madden, Mackenzie Kemp, Amanda Guth, Nina Diamond, Allison Herens, Kristin Rising, Jeannette Kates; 12/25 In 2024, an estimated 6.9 million Americans aged 65 and older were living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of dementia. Palliative care (PC) can improve quality of life (QOL) and reduce nonbeneficial care, yet persons living with dementia (PLWD) remain underserved. The intervention group [in this study] received up to two telehealth visits with a PC specialist, the patient (if able), and a caregiver (if participating). The intervention group had significantly fewer emergency department visits and hospitalizations but no differences in QOL or caregiver burden.

Medicare hospice use patterns among patients with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias compared to those with other terminal diagnoses (Issue Brief).ASPE; Frank, J., Huessard, K., Broyles, I., Frazier, L., Oliveira, I., Haltermann, W., III, Lamont, H., Okafor, M., & Blanco, M.; 9/25Key Points:

Mississippi House approves bill to allow medical marijuana use in hospitals for terminally ill patients Marijuana Moment; by Kyle Jaeger; 2/5/26 The Mississippi House of Representatives has approved a bill to allow terminally ill patients to access medical marijuana in hospitals, nursing facilities and hospice centers. About a week after advancing out of the House Public Health and Human Services Committee, the full chamber passed the legislation from Rep. Kevin Felsher (R) in a 117-1 vote on Wednesday. Known as “Ryan’s Law,” an acknowledgement of a young cannabis patient who passed and whose father has since become an advocate for access in hospital settings, the bill is meant to “support the ability of terminally ill qualifying patients to safely use medical cannabis within specified health care facilities.” 

Personalized palliative care shows signs of improving quality of life for children with advanced cancer American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), EurekAlert!; by Mass General Brigham; 2/4/26How to reduce suffering in children with advanced cancer remains an ongoing but urgent question. A Mass General Brigham-led study examined whether systematically surveying children with advanced cancer and their parents about their symptoms and quality of life, providing feedback to children, families, and clinicians—and acting on that information by implementing personalized palliative care—could improve patients’ experiences. Their findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, suggest that integrating feedback along with response by specialized pediatric palliative care (SPPC) has the potential to improve children’s quality of life.

What Salem-area lawmakers are prioritizing for the 2026 session Salem Reporter, Salem, OR; by Rachel Alexander and Hailey Cook; 2/4/26 ... Oregon’s month-long legislative session got underway on Monday, Feb.2. The fast-paced short session occurs in even years. ... Hospice care oversight: SB 1575 would add protections for patients in hospice care. The new rules would include requiring a background check for business owners, ensuring agencies have the financial resources to care for patients and pausing the issuance of new hospice licenses until the state rules are implemented.  Patterson said the change was at the request of the Oregon Hospice and Palliative Care Association. “In other states there has been a lot of fraud and abuse, and we want to prevent that from happening here in Oregon,” she said. 

Many patients with advanced blood cancers delay hospice to keep access to blood transfusionManaged Healthcare Executive; by Briana Contreras; 2/4/26Key Takeaways:

Exploring Artificial Intelligence in hospice and palliative care: An integrative review of technological and clinical Journal of Palliative Medicine; by Tuzhen Xu, PhD, APRN, FNP-C, Caiyi Liu, PhD, BSN, RN, Lin Li, PhD, Dan Song, PhD, RN, Gloria M. Rose, PhD, NP-C, FNP-BC, and Sen Zhu, PhD; 2/4/26 Conclusions: AI holds potential in enhancing timely, patient-centered palliative and hospice care, supporting prognostication, symptom management, and decision-making. Successful integration requires attention to clinician trust, workflow alignment, equity, and ethical considerations. To maximize its impact on underutilization, future research should focus on multicenter validation, representative datasets, ethical deployment, and seamless integration into clinical practice.

Vance to lead sweeping anti-fraud task force investigating California Before It's News; Press Release; 2/4/26 Vice President JD Vance is poised to chair a new White House task force aimed at rooting out potential fraud and abuse in government programs in California, according to CBS News. Andrew Ferguson, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, is expected to serve as the task force’s vice chairman and handle day-to-day operations, CBS News reports. President Donald Trump is anticipated to issue an executive order in the coming days to formally establish the group, the news outlet said.

Ares, DaVita make strategic investment in Elara Caring Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 2/3/26 Dallas-based Elara Caring has entered into a new strategic investment agreement with the private equity firm Ares Management Corporation and kidney care provider DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA). The dollar amounts of the investments were not disclosed. The transaction, announced on Tuesday, will be completed later in 2026, pending regulatory approval. Elara Caring will continue to operate as a wholly independent company. The company provides hospice, home and behavioral health, palliative and personal care services across 200 locations in 18 states.

O&I Subcommittee holds hearing on ongoing fraud in Medicare and Medicaid programs Energy & Commerce - Chairman Brett Guthrie, Washington, DC; Press Release; 2/3/26 Today [2/3], Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, led a hearing titled Common Schemes, Real Harm: Examining Fraud in Medicare and Medicaid. ... Watch the full hearing here. [Key excerpts:] ... Congressman Buddy Carter (GA-01): “Auditors found 112 hospice providers operating out of a single physical address. 112...holy cow. As a result, hospice agencies in LA County alone likely overbilled Medicare by $105 million in just one year. […] It looks like it’s a problem in a lot of different places. 

Can AI hear when patients are ready for palliative care? Researchers use AI to analyze patient phone calls for vocal cues predicting palliative care acceptance Penn LDI - Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics; by Hoag Levins; 2/24/26 A new study suggests artificial intelligence (AI) may help clinicians identify which seriously ill patients are ready for palliative care — by analyzing the energy, pitch, and other subtle vocal cues in recorded group phone conversations among patients, caregivers, and health care providers. The new work by a team led by LDI Senior Fellow and Penn Nursing School Assistant Professor Jiyoun Song, PhD, APRN, is the first to use speech processing to identify palliative care preferences during discussions and decision-making in managed long-term care (MLTC), a type of Medicaid-managed care for community-dwelling patients that need home and community-based services.

Husband with ‘caregiver burnout’ pushes wife to end her life with Medical Aid in Dying despite her wishes: Report People Magazine; by Vanessa Etienne; 2/3/26 Medical professionals express concerns about the speed of MAID assessments.