Literature Review

Social Media Watch 3/20/26

MedPAC: March 2026 Report to CongressMedPAC Reports; 3/12/26Medicare Benefit: National health care spending grew rapidly in 2023 and 2024, by 7 percent in each of these years. By 2024, national health care spending totaled $5.3 trillion. Health care spending has made up an increasing share of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) over time, rising from about 13 percent of GDP in 2000 to 18 percent in 2024. Medicare spending grew more rapidly than national health care spending in 2023 and 2024 (by 9 percent and 8 percent, respectively), in part due to changes in Part D financing that shifted more of the cost of prescription drug coverage from beneficiaries to the federal government. By 2024, Medicare spending totaled $1.1 trillion—equivalent to 21 percent of national health care spending and 3.8 percent of GDP. (Please see the full report here for additional detail.)

* CEO, Hildegard House, nonprofit, Louisville, KY

Characteristics of United States Food and Drug Administration drug recalls involving opioid medications, 2002-2025Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety; by Julio C Nunes, Gabriel P A Costa, Joao P De Aquino; 3/26We reviewed more than 20 years of recall data from the United States Food and Drug Administration and found 286 recalls involving seven commonly used opioids, affecting over 350 million tablets, capsules, patches, and injectable products. Nearly half of these recalls occurred because products failed basic quality checks, while others involved incorrect doses, contamination, mislabeling, or defective delivery systems. The most serious recalls, those carrying risk of serious injury or death, were concentrated among fentanyl, morphine, and hydromorphone. Many recall notices lacked important details, including the number of units affected, making it difficult to understand how these issues may impact patients. Our findings show that opioid recalls happen regularly and often reflect manufacturing problems that could influence treatment safety or effectiveness.

Nursing home profit status and pain among residents living with dementiaPain Management Nursing; by Sorah Levy, Barbara Resnick, Elizabeth Galik, Kelly Doran, Tara McMullen, Sarah Holmes; 2/26Nursing home (NH) residents living with dementia experience pain that is often sub-optimally managed. Nearly one in five nursing home residents with dementia experience pain symptoms.There is a known relationship between NH organizational factors, such as profit status, and quality of care. However, little attention has been paid to understanding the relationship between NH ownership profit status and pain among residents living with dementia. NH ownership profit status was not significantly associated with pain ... 

State POLST program maturity status and dying in the nursing home or hospice in the United States: An event time studyJournal of the American Medical Directors Association; by Komal Patel Murali, May Hua, Patricia W Stone, Andrew Dick, Tadeja Gracner; 2/26State Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) programs ensure documentation of orders for treatment are documented for the provision of goal-concordant care at the end of life. The national POLST organization tracks the maturity stages of state programs and categorizes them as developed (beginning of use) and endorsed (benchmarks and standardized use). Examining the association between POLST program maturation and the likelihood of dying in place can help clarify how implementation stage may affect end-of-life care and place of death. POLST program maturity is associated with a higher likelihood of NH residents dying in place or in hospice, potentially supporting goal-concordant care and reducing burdensome hospital transfers near the end of life.

Saturday newsletters focus on headlines and research - enjoy!

Executive Personnel Changes - 3/27/26

Palliative care should be integrated into cardiology therapy earlier, says study Medical Xpress; by Inka Väth; 3/25/26 An international group of authors has called for a shift in cardiovascular care. ... For clinical practice, the group of authors therefore recommends a stronger structural integration of palliative care content into cardiology. This includes interdisciplinary care teams, shared treatment models, and more intensive training in internal communication and symptom management. Palliative care should also be given greater consideration in medical education. ... Palliative care should be the standard in cardiology, not the exception. After all, the success of sustainable cardiology will not be measured solely by how long people live, but by how well they can live.

Beyond the checklist: MARly app introduces caregiver OS to detect early changes in condition and organize care at homesimPAL Solutions press release; 3/24/26MARly is a healthspan companion app designed to support patients, caregivers, and care teams in delivering safer, more coordinated care at home. Its Caregiver OS features are designed to make care at home more practical, organized, and sustainable for caregivers and families. New care coordination function transforms everyday caregiving by providing real-time insight—supporting caregivers while helping care teams stay ahead of avoidable health crises. simPAL Solutions has announced an early access release of Caregiver OS (Caregiver Operating System), a new care coordination function within its MARly App designed to help caregivers organize care at home while capturing early signs of health change that often go unseen between clinical visits. [For additional information, visit www.marly.health.]