Literature Review

Civility requires the willingness to engage – a dispute with a neighbor revealed how much motivation matters The Conversation; by Deborah Mower, Center for Practical Ethics; 7/2/26 ... Civility research matters for ethics education across every discipline, especially fields such as law or medicine where contentious political and moral disagreements are likely to arise. Consider, for instance, the tense conversations between healthcare professionals who disagree about whether the best course of treatment for a patient is to turn to hospice services. Civility has a role to play in the workplace, too, where people need to navigate disagreements with colleagues and also between potentially conflicting professional and legal obligations, client expectations and ethical beliefs. ... Civility isn’t the absence of disagreement, heated disagreement or even outright anger, but continued engagement in the face of and despite such emotion.

Relationships between advance care planning engagement, patients’ religious practices, and spirituality American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Robyn M. Axel-Adams, MS, MDiv, BCC, HEC-C, Emily Fox Ludden, MDiv, MGS, and Alexia M. Torke, MD; 7/2/26Background: Research has shown that people who consider themselves religious have a lower advance directive (AD) completion rate. However, advance care planning (ACP) includes a broader range of activities that are important in determining medical treatments. ... Conclusions: In contrast to prior findings of lower AD completion in more religious individuals, this study found that higher religiosity and spirituality are associated with higher ACP engagement. These results suggest ACP opportunities offered for religious congregations or spirituality focused communities may be especially successful.

Hospice should offer dignity, not deception | Your turn VC Star, Ventura County, CA; by Molly Corbett; 7/11/26 Not long ago, a Ventura County family called Livingston for help. Their loved one was enrolled with another hospice but had not received a visit from one of its nurses in more than three weeks. Consider what those weeks must have felt like. The family had made one of the most difficult decisions it would ever face. Instead of focusing on their loved one, they were left wondering when help would come and whether anyone was paying attention. That’s the human cost of hospice fraud and neglect. It’s not only money improperly billed to Medicare. It’s pain that may go unmanaged, calls that go unanswered and precious time consumed by fear and frustration.

Allied Services, Patriots Cove partnering to support vets, first responders The Times-Tribune, Scranton, PA; by Robert Tomkavage; 7/10/26 A partnership between Allied Services Hospice & Palliative Care and Patriots Cove will support the physical, emotional and compassionate care needs of veterans, first responders and caregivers. Laura Marion, RN, BSN, vice president of Allied’s hospice and palliative programs, called the collaboration “a perfect fit” to bring more services to local veterans through Patriots Cove’s Last Best Day program. ... Jeff Swire, president of Patriots Cove in Wyoming County, believes the collaboration will produce quality results for the community. “It’s twofold,” he said. “Allied works with veterans and first responders coming out of either the VA or the hospital for rehab and they have the insight. They know the individual’s conditions so they can do a direct referral to us. Not every veteran and every first responder wants to hunt, fish or do outdoor activities, but we want to make sure we’re an asset to them.”

Arden Home Health and Hospice celebrates Grand Opening of Vicksburg branch Vicksburg Daily News (VDN), Vicksburg, MS; Press Release; 7/10/26 Arden Home Health and Hospice held a ribbon-cutting and open house to mark the grand opening of its new Vicksburg hospice branch at 1650 US 61, Suite D. The new branch expands Arden’s established home health presence in Vicksburg, adding hospice services for patients and families in Claiborne, Jefferson, Warren, Yazoo, Holmes, Humphreys, Sharkey, and Issaquena counties. ... Prior to this expansion, families in these communities were forced to travel significant distances for advanced hospice care.

A new way to prepare doctors for difficult conversations University of Rochester; by Bob Marcotte; 7/10/26 [This post was originally published on July 15, 2021. It has been updated and republished to include a video about using SOPHIE for dentist-patient communication training.] As many as 68 percent of late-stage cancer patients leave their doctor’s offices either underestimating the severity of their disease, overestimating their life expectancy—or both. These misunderstandings can hinder the ability of patients and their families to make realistic decisions about whether to continue aggressive treatments or instead turn to palliative care. To address the problem, University of Rochester computer scientists, palliative care specialists, and practicing oncologists are perfecting SOPHIE (Standardized Online Patient for Healthcare Interaction Education)—an online virtual “patient” that helps physicians practice how to communicate effectively with late-stage cancer patients about their disease.

CMS proposes expanded authority to revoke Medicare privileges TechTarget; by Jacqueline LaPointe; 7/6/26 CMS proposes expanding its authority to revoke Medicare providers in fraud crackdown, while updating home health payments with a 2.4% increase and continued PDGM adjustments. The Trump administration wants to double down on its healthcare fraud, waste and abuse crackdown. This time, policymakers are seeking to expand CMS' powers to remove providers from Medicare -- a move that the agency says will save taxpayers about $82 million a year. The added capabilities are part of the Calendar Year 2027 Home Health Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule (CMS-1844-P), which CMS released ahead of the July 4th weekend.

The hidden healthcare workforce: why family caregivers are essential to the future of care Healthcare Business Today; by Lance A. Slatton; 7/7/26 Healthcare leaders across the United States are confronting a convergence of challenges unlike any in recent memory. Workforce shortages, rising healthcare costs, increasing patient complexity, chronic disease management, and a rapidly aging population are placing unprecedented demands on healthcare systems. As organizations search for solutions to improve outcomes, reduce costs, and maintain quality of care, one of the most important components of the healthcare ecosystem continues to be overlooked. Family caregivers. ... In many cases, they serve as the connective tissue holding an entire care plan together.

Hospice & Palliative Care of the Piedmont announces Dr. Nancy Hart Wicker as chief executive officer and chief medical officer Index Journal; by Staff Writer; 7/2/26Hospice & Palliative Care of the Piedmont [Charlottesville, VA] has appointed Nancy Hart Wicker, MD, FAAHPM, as chief executive officer and chief medical officer, effective immediately. Hospice & Palliative Care of the Piedmont is the only locally governed, nonprofit hospice in the region with a CMS five-star rating, indicating the highest quality of care. The organization brings 45 years of service, clinical expertise, and community-based decision-making from its clinical staff, leadership, and volunteer board of directors.

Medicare Advantage insurers deny prior authorization requests for post acute care at substantially higher rates than the overall denial rate KFF; by Jeannie Fuglesten Biniek, Meredith Freed, and Juliette Cubanski; 7/6/26 The OIG recently published two reports finding that Medicare Advantage insurers deny more than half of all prior authorization requests for the most expensive types of post-acute care, including 65% of requests for stays in long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) and 54% of requests for stays in inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), as well as 12% of requests for stays in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).

[Canada] Palliative care is a fundamental human right TroyMedia; by Rebecca Vachon; 7/6/26 ... Despite the fact that everyone dies, and despite the fact that something like 180,000 Canadians and their families interact with some form of end-of-life care in a year, I keep confronting the perception that palliative care is a niche issue, not one of broad interest. But this reaction only underscores the poll's findings: namely that many Canadians continue to misunderstnad what palliative care is and isn't. On a more positive note, however, when Canadians do understand it, palliative care is, in fact, identified as a priority issue.

The hidden cost of cancer's end: how financial strain shapes final months of care Fred Hutch Cancer Center, University of Washingon, Seattle, WA; by D. Moosavi; 6/25/26 ... Previous Fred Hutch research has shown that people with cancer are more than twice as likely to file for bankruptcy, and nearly twice as likely to experience what researchers call an “adverse financial event,” compared with people who don’t have cancer. But most of that earlier work focused on financial hardship as an outcome caused by cancer. This study flips the question: once someone is already dealing with financial strain, what happens to the care they receive as their illness progresses?Publisher's note: This study also notes Fred Hutch researchers are already exploring this idea through an ongoing study called CREDIT, which is testing whether connecting patients with advanced cancer to financial navigation services can improve their care and reduce unnecessary emergency room and hospital use. Could hospices do something similar?