Literature Review

Tele-palliative care offers access to needed support Rand; by Shira H. Fischer, Jordan M. Harrison, Julia Bandini; 7/18/25 On first consideration, the idea of providing palliative care via video chat seems counterintuitive or even insensitive. Palliative care focuses on improving quality of life for individuals with serious illnesses. At such a delicate time, would a computer screen between patients and their doctors really suffice? Yet tele-palliative care—palliative care via telehealth— is emerging as a promising option. It offers access to care for those who might otherwise go without and has surprising advantages over traditional, in-person care.

[England] £75 Million boost for hospices to transform end-of-life care Gov*UK, Department of Health and Social Care; Press Release, Stephen Kinnock, MP; 7/20/25 Families will see further improvements in end-of-life care as the government releases £75 million for hospices to deliver major upgrades and enhancements to facilities including separate family rooms, solar panels to reduce energy costs and communal lounges. More than 170 hospices across England will receive a share of the funding – the largest cash injection ever – to ensure patients receive the highest quality end-of-life care in comfortable, dignified surroundings. It follows a £25 million boost in February, delivering the government’s £100 million investment confirmed in December. This is already supporting urgent building repairs and creating warmer, homely spaces. This cash marks a further step in the delivery of the government’s Plan for Change, improving care in the community where people need it most. 

Perform detail-oriented internal audits to avoid common denials DecisionHealth - Home Health Line; by MaryKent Wolff; 7/18/25 The most common reason for hospice denials in the first quarter of 2025 was that the claim was not hospice appropriate, according to Palmetto GBA, a Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) servicing 16 states. Palmetto released its list of the top 10 hospice medical review denial reasons from January to March 2025 on May 16. [Subscription required.]

Death anxiety: Dani Chammas & Keri BrennerGeriPal podcast; by Eric Widera, Alex Smith, Dani Chammas, Keri Brenner; 7/17/25What is death anxiety? We spend the first 15 minutes of the podcast addressing this question. And maybe this was unfair to our guests, the fabulous dynamic duo of palliative psychiatrists Dani Chammas and Keri Brenner (listen to their prior podcasts on therapeutic presence and the angry patient). After all, we invited them on to our podcast to discuss death anxiety, then Eric and I immediately questioned if death anxiety was the best term for what we want to discuss!

Most older adults with advanced cancer prioritize quality of life over survivalHealio; by Daniel R. Richardson; 7/14/25Nearly three-quarters of older adults with advanced cancer value quality of life over extending survival, according to study results presented at ASCO Annual Meeting. However, data showed that regardless of patient preference for quality of life or survival, clinical outcomes appeared to be similar.

Healthcare’s self-driving moment: Why automation could restore joy of medicine for everyone Becker's Health IT; by Feby Abraham; 7/16/25 As rapid advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) helps develop lower-cost, increasingly efficient workplace solutions, workers across all industries face concerns about the “human impact” on long-held positions. Software engineers, call center employees, technical support professionals, and administrative staff wonder what AI means for their careers—not just in coming years, but in the months ahead. Healthcare is not immune to these concerns. Leaders obsess over whether AI will replace doctors, nurses, and hospital staff. But they’re asking the wrong question. ... The real question is: How can healthcare follow the automotive industry’s proven automation playbook to restore the joy of practicing medicine while creating transformational value across the entire healthcare ecosystem?

The 4th and 5th Annual U.S. World Hospice and Palliative Care Day conferences: Unifying the global palliative care community Palliative & Supportive Care; by William E Rosa, Shila Pandey, Andrew S Epstein, Liz Blackler, Lauren Akua Koranteng, Dana Greenfield, Paul Yoon, Craig D Blinderman, Judith E Nelson, William S Breitbart; 7/18/25 On October 3-4, 2023 and September 30-October 1, 2024, the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Supportive Care Service hosted the 4th and 5th Annual U.S. Celebration of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD) conferences, respectively. This article describes both events and lessons learned in anticipation of the 6th annual conference to be held October 6-7, 2025.

Online reputation management crucial for hospices, home-based care providers Hospice News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 7/18/25 Hospice and home-based care providers cannot put online reputation management on the back burner. That’s a key takeaway from a recent report from Transcend Strategy Group. While all businesses should be concerned about maintaining a good online reputation, this is especially important for home-based hospice care providers due to their unique care delivery setting, according to Tony Kudner, chief strategy officer at Transcend. A hospice provider’s digital presence can give patients and their families greater insight when it comes to the quality and depth of their services, Kudner said. “When you are dealing with the intimacy of someone coming into your home, the personalization and how you feel about the agency that you open the door for matters more,” Kudner told Hospice News.

Hospice of the Piedmont CEO: Doubling down on community-based support Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 7/16/25 Virginia-based Hospice of the Piedmont is sharpening its focus on home-based care services and unfurling several initiatives in this realm. The future of end-of-life care delivery has increasingly shifted into the home, according to Nancy Littlefield, president and CEO at Hospice of the Piedmont. While demand for facility-based hospice care is also rising, sustaining these services has become increasingly difficult, she indicated. Several hospices have shuttered their facility-based programs in recent years, with many citing financial headwinds as a leading reason fueling inpatient center closures. Financial strains were among the challenges that led to the difficult decision to close Hospice of the Piedmont’s Center for Acute Hospice Care, Littlefield said. ... Hospice News recently sat down with Littlefield to learn more about how hospices are sustaining and growing their services in today’s economic and financial climate.

Two programs recognized as 2025 AHA Circle of Life Award Honorees | AHA American Hospital Association, Washington, DC; Press Release; 7/17/25 Two programs will be honored with the American Hospital Association 2025 Circle of Life Award for their efforts in palliative and end-of-life care. The winning programs are Gilchrist, Baltimore, Maryland, and Bristol Hospice – Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii. Both winners will receive this prestigious recognition during the AHA’s Leadership Summit in Nashville on July 20-22. The Circle of Life Award honors hospital and palliative care programs that are ensuring equitable access to care, implementing nontraditional models of care delivery and payment, fully integrating palliative care into a system of care or a community, making palliative care financially sustainable, developing meaningful measures and metrics to track progress, or partnering with payers, other providers, community groups and faith communities.Editor's Note: For more information, Gilchrist Named Circle of Life Award Winner--for the Second Time!

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.

Texas flooding: Live updates and main donation linkLinks below are from CNN and the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country

Hill Country vigil draws hundreds after deadly Texas floods MYSA, San Antonio, TX; by Nicholas Hernandez; 7/11/25 ... On Thursday, July 10, hundreds gathered downtown for a Candlelight Vigil of Hope to honor those affected [by the "catastophic flood"] and shine a light on the importance of grief and mental health support in the wake of disaster. Organized by River City Advocacy in partnership with Hope Hospice and other local nonprofits, the event brought together counselors, community leaders and families. Handheld candles were distributed at the plaza, where people stood shoulder-to-shoulder in silence, prayer and remembrance. ... "If there’s one thing that New Braunfels knows, it’s how to gather and how to support each other, especially in times of flooding and tragedy," said Heather Harrison, director of development at Hope Hospice and Hope Hospice Foundation.Editor's Note: Thank you Hope Hospice for your leadership in providing this crucial way to gather and grieve. Calling all hospice leaders to simply "check in" on employees who have family and friends in affected areas when such crises occur. Other recent examples include Hurricanes Helene & Milton, the Los Angeles wildfires, Kentucky floods, and these Texas / New Mexico floods. Your kind, timely words can make a lasting difference.