Literature Review

Evaluation of a pharmacist-driven discharge medication reconciliation service Pharmacy Times; by Missy Montino, PharmD, Madison Holmes, PharmD, BCPS, Shannon Pierce, PharmD, CPh, BCPS, Randi Silcox, PharmD, Anna-Marie Freeland, PharmD, Bola Habeb, MD; 7/13/26 Introduction: Medication reconciliation is a systematic process utilized to ensure the accuracy and consistency of a patient’s medication information across transitions in care. It involves comparing the patient’s current medication regimen with the prescribed medications to identify and resolve discrepancies, such as omissions, duplications, dosing errors, or potential drug interactions. ... Discussion and Conclusion: ... This study adds to the body of evidence supporting pharmacy’s positive impact on patient health outcomes, specifically in reducing 30-day readmission rates and identifying clinical interventions. This reinforces the benefit of a pharmacist-driven discharge medication reconciliation service. ...

Calendar Year (CY) 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule CMS Newsroom; Fact Sheet; 7/14/26 paired with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CMS CY 2027 Payment Policies under the Physician Fee Schedule, 7/16/26; summary by guest editor Judi Lund Person On July 14, 2026, the Federal Register posted the CY 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule – CMS-1848-P. The CMS Fact Sheet on the proposed rule can be found here. While the proposed rule is 1,592 pages, there are two items of note to hospice and palliative care readers: 1) Supporting Beneficiaries Planning for Future Medical Decisions.CMS is proposing to create two new HCPCS codes to describe advance care planning (ACP) services furnished by clinical staff under the direct supervision of the billing physician or other practitioner. These new codes will more accurately distinguish and value the work done by billing practitioners from time spent by their clinical staff providing ACP services. We are further proposing that the existing ACP CPT codes 99497 and 99498 would only be used to report time personally spent by the billing practitioner. 2) RFI on Community-based Palliative Care, asking questions on eligibility for serious illness care and palliative care, the future of care management services and advanced primary care management.   

Why most healthcare brand strategies fail the first time leadership gets tested MedCityNews; by Erin Gregory; 7/10/26 If you are sitting on a brand strategy right now, the test is not whether your team likes it. The test is whether it can be defended by someone who did not build it, to a board that did not commission it, by a leader who did not hire you. A few years ago, I watched a regional nonprofit in community health and wellness come close to imploding. ...

Empath Health expands hospice support for Jewish communities Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 7/13/26 Empath Trustbridge Hospice has established a formal partnership with Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services (JFS) to expand access to end-of-life support. The partnership with JFS is aimed at improving access to culturally responsive care provided by Empath Trustbridge Hospice’s Tikvah Jewish Care & Support Program. The program provides faith-based support, honors Jewish traditions and holiday observances, as well as kosher dietary coordination. The two organizations launched the partnership after years of relationship-building and a mutual commitment to honoring the Jewish community through every stage of life. 

[United Kingdom] Development of the ‘Culturally Informed Ecological Model of Grief’ – a national qualitative study of bereavement experiences among ethnically diverse communities BMC Medicine; by Catriona R Mayland, Emily Fisher, Adejoke O Oluyase, Nikel-Shaniece Hector-Jack, Toslima Khatun, Rukia Saleem, Naureen Khan, Shirin Shahid, Riffat Mahmood, Gurpreet Grewal-Santini, Monika Afolabi, Candice Wang, Sarah Ng, Rashmi Kumar, Katherine Bristowe, Emily Harrop, Zoebia Islam, Jonathan Koffman, Gurch Randhawa, Lucy E Selman & Sabrina Bajwah; 7/14/26  Background: Among people from ethnically diverse communities, evidence regarding bereavement experiences and support needs is limited; there are known inequities in access to formal bereavement support. Conclusions: Racism was evident across multiple settings and closely intertwined with bereavement, compounding the emotional burden of grief. This study represents the largest qualitative investigation of bereavement among ethnically diverse communities in UK healthcare to date, providing a robust evidence base for improving equity in support. Bereavement services must prioritise cultural safety and actively address structural racism. The ‘Culturally Informed Ecological Model of Grief’ offers a new framework guiding more equitable bereavement support, relevant across national and international contexts.

Leveraging technology in hospice sales and marketing Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 7/14/26 Technology is becoming increasingly important in hospice sales and marketing, but it can’t replace the human touch, according to provider leaders. One of the most proliferating sets of technologies sweeping the hospice space and many other industries right now is artificial intelligence (AI). While AI can be a tool to generate referral growth and streamline operations, building person-to-person relationships is more important, Craig Dresang, CEO of the nonprofit hospice provider YoloCares, said during a Hospice News webinar.  “Nothing will replace relationship management person to person. AI is a tool to be used. We use AI here in a number of ways,” Dresang told Hospice News. “There are a number of ways that AI can be used as a tool, but nothing will replace good old-fashioned people skills and relationship management skills.”

Dublin business accuses fired CEO, CFO of embezzlement Columbus Business First, Columbus, OH; by Carrie Ghose; 7/13/26 Dublin-based ViaQuest fired founder Rich Johnson and CFO Michael Bell, and in a lawsuit accuses them of diverting more than $15 million.  ... In January 2025, Johnson purchased ViaQuest Hospice LLC, through a $10 million promissory note that is still owing, according to the complaint. As sole owner and CEO of Hospice, Johnson was required to separate its finances when the deal closed, but ViaQuest kept paying Hospice expenses for a total of $12.9 million at Johnson and Bell's direction, the complaint said. ViaQuest employees including Bell also spent substantial time doing duties for Hospice, it said, an expense not yet calculated. [Access to the full article may be limited.]

Medicare’s hospice bill doubled over the last decade U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO); WatchBlog Post; 7/14/26 In recent years, Medicare’s spending on hospice has nearly doubled. We looked at this spending and found that the way Medicare pays for hospice care could be costing taxpayers billions more than it should. Today’s WatchBlog post looks at our new report about inefficiencies in Medicare's payments.

Why joint ventures may outpace M&A during the CMS home health enrollment moratorium Home Health Care News; by MK Manoylov; 7/14/26 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) six-month moratorium on new Medicare home health enrollments limits one pathway for providers to scale, but operators can still expand organically and through M&A. Growth-minded operators can increase census, improve workforce availability, acquire other businesses and forge joint ventures, home health industry insiders said during a recent Home Health Care News webinar. Organic growth can mean improving conversion rates from referrals, expanding partnerships and developing operations, said Andwell Health Partners CEO Ken Albert.

The Healing Page: how Akron Children's combines clinical care with narrative medicine poetry WOSU Public Media | NPR/PBS, Akron, OH ; by Jeff St. Clair; 7/13/26 The written word has healing power. That’s the idea behind narrative medicine, an emerging branch of healthcare that adds creative writing to the clinical toolkit. Akron Children’s Hospital is a leader in narrative medicine, and all this week, Ideastream Public Media is highlighting the program's writers in our series "The Healing Page." Dr. Sarah Friebert is director of Akron Children's palliative care center ... said when sick kids write about what they’re going through, “We tap into an inner spring of wellness and spirituality and wholeness ..." Friebert likened a critical diagnosis to a bomb going off in a family. Her program considers the blast radius of a diagnosis by extending services to impacted family members who are encouraged to write about their experiences and feelings.

California adopts sweeping emergency regulations for hospice providers: what the new rules require and how to prepare JD Supra; by Epstein Becker & Green; 7/13/26 On June 22, 2026, emergency regulations promulgated by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and codified at Title 22, California Code of Regulations, sections 74800 through 74908, took effect. The emergency regulations establish detailed licensing, operational, staffing, and governance standards for hospice agencies. This new regulatory framework applies immediately to both existing hospice licensees and applicants for initial licensure. Although the emergency regulations are temporary, CDPH has indicated that it intends to make them permanent.

Hospice of Westchester receives donation from NYS Tribute Foundation Yonkers Times, Westchester, NY; by Dan Murphy; 7/12/26 Hospice of Westchester (HOW) recently received a $10,000 donation from NYS Tribute Foundation. The funds will support HOW’s Anna & Louis H. Shereff Bereavement Program, which provides bereavement care to patients’ families for 13 months following the loss of a loved one, as well as to all members of the community. “We are grateful to the NYS Tribute Foundation for their incredible generosity and ongoing support of our mission,” said Mary K. Spengler, RN, MS, LNHA, CEO of Hospice of Westchester. ... The NYS Tribute Foundation, which unites funeral service professionals throughout New York State, is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting education, outreach and research programs that advance the public’s understanding of end-of-life issues.