Literature Review

I bet jellyfish are sad that there are no peanut butter fish.

Palliative care education in pediatric cardiology fellowships: A survey of program directorsPediatric Cardiology; Lesje DeRose, Sarah Godfrey, Shabnam Peyvandi, Nicole M. Cresalia, Jill M. Steiner, Emily Morell; 6/25 Our survey demonstrated a wide range of PC [palliative care] educational practices among categorical pediatric cardiology fellowship programs. While most programs provided some form of PC education to their fellows, the amount and modality varied widely between programs, from very minimal PC exposure to required core PC rotations. Almost half of the participating PDs [program directors] reported dissatisfaction with the current amount of PC education in their fellowship programs. Programs such as VitalTalk (www.vitaltalk.org) and other (both in-person or virtual) modules have been utilized in other training environments with improvement in trainee comfort in PC topics, including CardioTalk for adult cardiology trainees. Didactic-based curricula in PC topics, such as mental health and ethics, have also been shown to help providers gain confidence in PC domains.

Health economic analysis of an all-virtual, at-home acute care modelJAMA Network Open; Brad Spellberg, MD; Christopher Lynch, MD; Hal F. Yee, MD, PhD; Josh Banerjee, MD; 6/25Hospital-at-home care models send staff, durable medical equipment (DME), and therapeutics (eg, intravenous infusions) to patients’ homes to provide care. In the US, Medicare requires in-person evaluations at least twice daily to receive payment for hospital-at-home services. In the UK National Health Service, virtual wards at home are increasingly being used in lieu of inpatient care. This economic evaluation of ... patients receiving all-virtual, at-home acute care ... found that the virtual program was cost-saving (due to avoided variable hospital costs) only for unfunded patients or patients with Medicaid, but was cost-losing for Medicare and commercially insured patients due to substantial lost inpatient revenue. These findings suggest that current payer rates for inpatient care financially disincentivize development and implementation of novel acute, at-home care models, but a simple reimbursement schema could enable net savings to both hospitals and payers.

Impact of spirituality in Christians with serious illness - A phenomenological studyAmerican Journal of Hospice and Pallaitive Care; Judy Lentz; 6/25Seeking support within the faith community is frequently noted in Christians with serious illness. Research interviews captured four major structures with accompanying constituent parts [including] ... sovereignty of God with unpredictability, relationship with God especially through prayer, illness-related loss with accompanying guilt for the subsequent burden created for the caregivers, and gratitude for the love and support shown to the participant by loved ones and others. The impact of the structures and constituent parts of spirituality identified by the Christians who participated in this study demonstrates the value and significance of the faith-based spiritual support received during their illness.

Hospice and palliative care experiences as expressed on the r/hospice and r/palliative subredditsAmerican Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine; Riley Shin, BSA; Ashley Shin, MD; Elizabeth K. Nugent, MD, MS; 6/25 Reddit, an anonymous online community forum, provides space for sharing medical information, seeking emotional support, and facilitating open communication. This qualitative study examined the most popular questions on the r/hospice and r/palliative communities on Reddit. Seven primary themes emerged from question and advice-seeking r/hospice comments: (1) the dying process (24%), (2) coping and emotional support for patients and caregivers (22%), (3) logistics of hospice and palliative care (22%), (4) medication treatments and side effects (13%), (5) negative hospice experiences (10%), (6) support for hospice providers (7%), and (7) other less related material (2%). Assessment of posts on the r/hospice and r/palliative subreddits revealed gaps in communication between patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers in several important areas, most importantly in demystifying the dying process and providing patient and caregiver support.

Measuring goal-concordant care using electronic clinical notesJAMA Network; by Catherine L. Auriemma, Anne Song, Lake Walsh, Jason Han, Sophia Yapalater, Alexander Bain, Lindsay Haines, Stefania Scott, Casey Whitman, Stephanie Parks Taylor, Gary E. Weissman, Matthew J. Gonzales, Roshanthi Weerasinghe, Staci J. Wendt, Katherine R. Courtright; 7/3/25In this longitudinal cohort study among 109 patients with serious illness and limited prognoses, clinicians reviewed and classified 398 epochs of care as goal concordant (50%), goal discordant (19%), or of uncertain concordance (32%) with nearly perfect interrater agreement for categorizing the type of care received. These findings suggest that using electronic clinical notes to measure goal-concordant care is feasible, laying the groundwork for future automated text-based classification methods to improve reliability and pragmatism of measuring goal-concordant care for clinical and research use at scale.

Saturday newsletters focus on headlines and research - enjoy!

Social Media Watch 7/11/25

Study: New method successfully measures whether seriously ill patients receive care matching their wishesMcKnight's Long-Term Care News; by Donna Shryer; 7/8/25A study has developed a reliable way to measure whether seriously ill hospitalized patients receive medical care that aligns with their personal goals. The research, involving 109 seriously ill patients with a median age of 70, found that using electronic clinical notes to measure goal-concordant care is feasible. The study identified variation in whether treatment matched patients’ stated goals. Researchers found that only half of all treatment phases were goal-concordant — with medical treatment matching patients’ documented preferences. Nearly one in five phases was goal-discordant, where treatment contradicted stated wishes, while roughly one-third remained uncertain due to unclear or missing goal discussions.

Elderly people look at their younger reflections in this beautiful photo series by Tom Hussey Digital Synopsis; photos by Tom Hussey; retrieved from the internet 7/10/25 'Reflections of the Past' is an award-winning photo series by commercial advertising photographer Tom Hussey. The photographs show an elderly person looking pensively at the reflection of his/her younger self in the mirror. Hussey was inspired by a World War II veteran who said "I can't believe I'm going to be 80. I feel like I just came back from the war. I look in the mirror and see this old guy." It's beautiful, touching ... Editor's Note: Click here to view this touching series. The phrases "every photo tells a story" and "a picture is worth a thousand words" come to life. This award-winning campaign was used in a marketing campaign by Novartis for a treatment of Alzheimer's disease. [Our newsletter has no disclosures to report.] These photos are under strict copyright laws with strict enforcement. They can be shared easily via social media links at the top of its webpage. 

New Winship web tool helps Georgians find palliative care services Emory University Winship Cancer Institute; Press Release; 7/7/25 Patients, families and referring physicians now have a new online source for locating palliative care services in Georgia. Developed by Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, More Access to Palliative Care Georgia (MAPGA) is a searchable database of vetted inpatient and outpatient palliative care agencies and hospital-based programs across the state. ... Users who visit MAPGA can view a list and interactive map of nearby palliative care services, including hospital-based outpatient clinics and home-based care. For more customized results, they can enter their zip code or filter by location (clinic, in-home or hospital-based/inpatient) and type (adult or pediatric). MAPGA also features a “heat map” that highlights gaps in access to care. 

Beyond the sandbags: Operational hurricane planning for in-home care HomeCare; by Matthew P. Chaloux; 7/9/25 When hurricanes approach, in-home care organizations face challenges that are vastly different from those of facility-based providers. In addition to safeguarding infrastructure, we must ensure the safety of mobile care teams, maintain critical supply routes and coordinate services for patients whose needs don’t pause for the weather. At Empath Health, we care for more than 75,000 patients annually across 20 Florida counties through hospice, home health, palliative and supportive care programs. Our teams aren’t centralized—they’re on the road, in homes and dispersed across regions that may be affected in very different ways by the same storm. Over the years, we’ve learned that effective hurricane response in home-based care depends on three things: preparation, coordination and flexibility. ...

DOJ & HHS announce reinvigoration of False Claims Act Working Group and Healthcare Fraud Enforcement Priorities Dorsey & Whitney LLP; Press Release; 7/9/25 The Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services announced the reinvigoration of a False Claims Act (“FCA”) Working Group, a joint effort between the two agencies.  The announcement was made on July 2 during remarks at the American Health Law Association (“AHLA”) Annual Meeting by Brenna Jenny, the new Deputy Assistant Attorney General of DOJ’s Commercial Litigation Branch, and in a press release that same day. This working group underscores that healthcare fraud is a priority for the Administration, despite recent staff changes and recent policy announcements about enforcement priorities in civil rights and DEI. It also underscores that robust compliance programs should continue to be a priority for healthcare-industry stakeholders.