Literature Review

3 things leaders should prioritize in 2025World Economic Forum; by Madeleine North; 1/28/25 At the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2025, what did leaders from different industries view as the priorities for the coming year? Over the course of the event, cooperation and adaptability emerged as key themes for addressing challenges in a rapidly evolving global landscape. ... Here are three lessons for the year ahead from seven leaders in their field.

How to prioritize AI initiatives: A strategic framework for maximizing ROI CIO; Opinion, by Santhosh Gottigere; 1/28/25 ... AI is highly disruptive and rapidly evolving at breakneck speed. Advanced versions of large language models (LLMs) are coming out at regular intervals with improved compute power capabilities. Those LLMs are also achieving the kind of increased accuracy scores on the MMLU benchmark leaderboard that have become synonymous with the version upgrade cycles we are all accustomed to with SaaS product releases like clockwork. ... Developing a clear and comprehensive strategic vision is the starting point of prioritizing AI initiatives with business goals. Answering the question “Why” sets the tone. Will AI — and specifically generative AI (genAI) — assist in your customer experience and retention efforts?  Are you hoping it will open up or drive new lines of revenue? Or is it a “we’re not sure, but we don’t want to be left behind” situation? ... [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

The iatrogenic consequences of medicalising grief: Resetting the research agenda Sociology of Health & Illness: by Sarah Gurley-Green, Lisa Cosgrove, Milutin Kostic, Lauren Koa, and Susan McPherson; published 11/28/25, distributed via Evermore 1/28/25When the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) was published in 2013, there was a firestorm of controversy about the elimination of the bereavement exclusion. Proponents of this change and of the proposed “complicated grief” designation believed that this change would help clinicians recognise major depression in the context of recent bereavement. Other researchers and clinicians have raised concerns about medicalising grief. In 2022 “prolonged grief disorder” (PGD) was officially included in the DSM-5-TR in the trauma- and stressor-related disorders section. ... As human rights activists have argued, bereavement support is an inalienable human right, one that is centered on the right to health and well-being, for “bereavement health is as intrinsic to our humanity as any other aspect of health and citizenship” (Macaskill 2022). That is why there are increasing calls for investing in bereavement as a public good and for “cultivat[ing] a bereavement-conscious workforce.” (Lichtenthal et al. 2024, e273). As Lichtenthal notes, it is not only clinicians but also institutions and systems that must “shift bereavement care from an afterthought to a public health priority.”Editor's note: "Iatrogenic" refers to unintentional consequences/condition from a medical intervention. In the hospice context, this means bereavement/grief from the hospice death. How many patients do you serve? The CMS Hospice Conditions of Participation identify "bereavement" and/or "grief" 155 times. What priority do you give to bereavement care before, at and after your patients' deaths?

U.S. Attorney’s Office recovers more than $55 million in civil settlements and judgments in calendar year 2024United States Attorney's Office - Western District of Texas, San Antonio, TX; 1/28/25U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza announced today that the Western District of Texas recovered $55,969,678.60 in settlements and judgments in over 25 affirmative civil enforcement cases between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024. ... The office’s largest civil recoveries were obtained in False Claims Act (FCA) matters. The most significant FCA recoveries include: ...

Wellesley couple has donated more than $3M toward palliative care at local hospital WickedLocal.com, Newton, MA; by Beth McDermott; 1/29/25 A Wellesley couple recently committed $1.6 million to support palliative care at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, bringing their total contribution to more than $3 million. In a press release, hospital officials said the latest donation from Steve and Rebecca Sullivan will fund a palliative care nurse navigator position to benefit the entire hospital, especially its emergency department. The role is expected to improve the quality of care for seriously ill patients, streamline patient flow and support care teams. A previous $1.5 million gift from the Sullivans, in 2021, endowed the Sullivan Family Chief of Palliative Care position, held by Dr. Kosha Thakore.

The road to success is always under construction. ~ Lily Tomlin

The Dorion Family Pediatric Center breaks ground in Mandarin Jacksonville Daily Record, Jacksonville, FL; by Dan Macdonald; 1/28/25 The hospice center is designed to expand care and convenience for children and their families. The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care broke ground Jan. 27 on the Dorion Family Pediatric Center, a pediatric hospice center in Mandarin. ... The space will allow for an expanded range of therapies and support services in a dedicated, pediatric-friendly setting. The facility will provide a centralized location that reduces travel time for the clinical team. Currently, caregivers travel to patients’ homes, the release said. ... The Dorion Family Pediatric Center is named in honor of the Dorion family, who are advocates for compassionate care. The family helped establish the organization. 

Homecare industry facing crisisWFMZ-TV 69 News, Allentown, PA; by Christina Lengyel; 1/28/25 ...  [Providers] across the state are struggling to hire enough staff to cover the needs of the state’s 300,000 homecare recipients. Unable to offer comparable hourly wages, the industry is losing its potential recruiting pool to gig work and jobs in the service industry. “We are in crisis. The crisis isn’t coming. We are not planning for it. It’s actively here,” said Mia Haney, CEO of the Pennsylvania Homecare Association at a meeting of the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee. The average hourly wage for homecare workers in the state is between $13 and $14, making it hard to compete with other industries. Even within healthcare, counterparts performing the same tasks from within care facilities earn more. Home care advocates say the discrepancy doesn’t add up given the value of homecare.

Palliative care may improve quality of life in esophageal cancer Cure; by Tim Cortese; 1/27/25 Palliative care consultations helped patients with esophageal cancer at end-of-life experience better quality of life and less financial strain by reducing the need for intensive interventions, according to a poster presented at the 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. The mean length of hospital stay was 7.5 days (plus or minus 11.3 days) for patients who received palliative care and 8.9 days (plus or minus 14.9) for those who didn’t; and total charges were $97,879 (plus or minus $195,868) and $146,128 (plus or minus $321,830), respectively. Patients who received palliative care consultation had a Charlson Comorbidity Index of 9.4 (plus or minus 3.3) versus 9.1 (plus or minus 3.5) for patients who did not.

Health equity guide aims to improve care for Black patients with serious illnesses Healio; by Jennifer Byrne; 1/28/25 Black individuals in the U.S. with serious illnesses receive disproportionately poor pain management and health care communication, compared with white individuals, a focus group led by the Center to Advance Palliative Care showed. Black individuals with these illnesses — such as cancer, heart failure or dementia — also experience higher family caregiver burden, findings showed. To address these inequities, the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) issued a comprehensive guide titled, “Advancing Equity for Black Patients with Serious Illness.”

You’re not imagining it. The ‘quad-demic’ is making everyone sick. New Jersey Advance Media; by Jackie Roman; 1/27/25 A quadruple threat of viruses is driving up emergency room visits and hospital admissions across the United States, including in New Jersey. Public health experts warn a “quad-demic” — a contagious combination of COVID-19, influenza, RSV and norovirus — has increased pressure on New Jersey hospitals this winter. Emergency department visits and hospital admissions remain elevated for COVID-19, influenza, and RSV, according to the state’s latest respiratory illness surveillance report. ... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there have been at least 16 million illnesses, 190,000 hospitalizations, and 8,300 deaths from flu so far this season. Thirty-one of those deaths were among children, according to the CDC. [Click on the title's link for more data and a national map, with updates by the CDC on 1/22/25.] 

What can we learn from the dying? Newscastle's News Letter Journal (NLJ), Newcastle, WY; by Kelly Evans-Hullinger, MD; 1/26/25 For the last five years, I have had the great privilege of serving my local health system as Medical Director for Home Hospice. Every week I sit in a meeting with the multidisciplinary caretakers on this team ... Patients facing their own deaths want to talk about their lives. Our staff frequently tries to facilitate what they call a “life review” in which a patient can openly talk about their childhood, family, career, service, and sometimes their regrets. This is therapeutic for the dying patient and their loved ones.  ... I have recently thought about this particular human need – to reflect and remember one’s life. I take this as a reminder to both seek those stories from my own loved ones (I wish I had asked my grandmother more questions about her life) and, perhaps, to tell and write about the things in my own life I would want to be remembered after I am gone. For if there is another thing I’ve learned serving patients on hospice, it is that my death is also inevitable; but, I think, life’s finality is what gives it beauty and meaning.