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.

An end-of-life care approach defining a new standard of careJAMDA; by David N. Hoffman; 6/26The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Leadership Alliance established an End-of-Life Care/Ending-Life Care Accelerator to define a continuum of care for patients as they progress from curative care, to palliative care, to hospice care, to final care planning, including ending life care interventions such as Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD), Voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED), and palliative sedation. This accelerator defined as its goal the task of breaking down barriers between care providers which has been illuminated by research recently conducted by the Completed Life Initiative (CLI). CLI’s research efforts in this area started with an ongoing examination of nationwide hospice organization policies to provide referral for active intervention at the end of life. That effort was refocused on the widespread noncompliance of California and Washington state hospice organizations with a state law requirement to post on the organizations website a list of interventions made available by the hospice organization.

Hospitals confront nursing opposition to AI HFMA; by Rich Daly; 7/7/26 Health systems’ adoption of artificial intelligence to improve productivity increasingly is meeting opposition from their nursing staff. Nurse opposition to AI has become most visible in nurse strikes, where limits and guardrails on AI deployment for clinical and administrative uses have emerged. Sixty-five percent of hospitals reported using AI or predictive models integrated with their electronic health records (EHRs) in 2023, according to a recent study. But nurse distrust of the technology was seen in a 2024 National Nurses United survey of 2,300 registered nurses, which found that 60% of respondents did not trust their employers to prioritize patient safety when implementing AI.

How to build trust in a new team and establish psychological safety - fast TylerHayden.com; by Tyler Hayden; 7/6/26 Psychological safety is one of the most talked-about concepts in modern leadership — and one of the least understood in practice. Most leaders know they’re supposed to create it. Far fewer know what it actually looks like when it’s missing, what it feels like when it’s present, or how to build it deliberately and quickly when the clock is ticking and the stakes are real. This post is for those leaders. The ones stepping into a new team, a skeptical room, or a group that’s been burned before — and who need more than theory. ...

Errors in billing in the United States may result in severe civil or even criminal penalties Spilman Thomas & Battle; by Christopher R. Arthur, William S. Thompson; 7/1/26 The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has ratcheted up its efforts to pursue actions against corporations, healthcare entities, and individuals, including physicians, for false Medicare or Medicaid billing and COVID-19-related loans. ... As part of this announcement, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) suspended 1,079 providers and revoked billing privileges for 1,403 providers. ... In addition to allowing the United States to pursue perpetrators of fraud on its own, the FCA allows private citizens to file suits on behalf of the government (called “qui tam” suits) against those who have defrauded the government. In the healthcare realm, these suits are often filed by disgruntled employees and patients, but can also be brought by competitors. ...

CMS creates new health tech office to lead interoperability efforts, digital products Fierce Healthcare; by Heather Landi; 6/15/26 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) aims to play a bigger role in health tech modernization efforts, including leading interoperability initiatives. The agency created a new Office of Health Technology and Products (OHTP) to provide "enterprise leadership and oversight for CMS healthcare technology modernization, digital products and transformation of platforms and services supporting Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and other CMS-administered programs," according to a notice in the Federal Register published on June 11. The new health tech-focused office will work in close coordination with the CMS Chief Information Officer (CIO) and will lead enterprise strategy for artificial intelligence, interoperability, digital product development, Medicare.gov, provider directories and claims system modernization, according to the notice. The office consists of eight divisions and the notice lists more than 90 responsibilities.Editor's Note: Examine the detailed Federal Register's "Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority"

What do UK hospice websites communicate about the meaning of palliative care? BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care; by Lucy Williams, Charlotte Browne, Paul Perkins, and Vanessa Taylor; 6/30/26Objectives: Hospice websites are an important source of information for the public. This study examined whether information communicated about palliative care aligned with WHO and the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) definitions of palliative care. ... Conclusions: Key information was often missing, and opportunities to educate the public and address misconceptions are being lost. Hospice websites need reviewing and content updating to help improve public understanding of palliative care. Editor's Note: What does your website communicate? What information does it omit, and why? In a time of heightened scrutiny and rampant fraud, examine your website for strengths, gaps, and opportunities to educate and support the public with integrity, authenticity, and empowered choice.

Scam alerts issued as fraudsters target Washington Parish residents The Bogalusa Daily News, Bogalusa, LA; by Kim Gerald; 6/26/26 Washington Parish residents are being urged to remain vigilant as several scams continue to circulate throughout the area, targeting individuals through phone calls, text messages and emails. Local authorities and healthcare providers have recently issued warnings about multiple fraud schemes designed to steal money and personal information from unsuspecting victims. One of the latest alerts comes from Riverside Medical Center, which is warning Medicare recipients about scammers offering free medical equipment or healthcare services. ... Officials caution that hospice scams can be especially damaging because victims may unknowingly be enrolled in hospice care, potentially affecting their access to regular Medicare benefits.

HCS home care/hospice salary & benefits studies underway American Health Care Association; by LIsa Hohenemser; 6/23/26 Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service (HCS) has announced the 2026 Home Care and Hospice Salary & Benefits studies are now underway with the deadline of August 10th. The Reports are recognized as the authoritative source for comprehensive marketplace data for home health + hospice agencies. Last year’s Home Care Report contained data from 1,111 home health agencies. The Hospice Report had data from 1,091 hospice agencies. Both studies include questions on staffing issues, nursing turnover/vacancy rates, and sign-on bonuses used by agencies to attract new employees.  ... Directions to Participate in the HCS Home Care or Hospice Salary & Benefits Study: ...

Beyond the pilot trap: how healthcare can scale AI without losing trust MedCityNews; by Prashant Sareen; 6/18/26 The future of healthcare depends on enterprises moving decisively beyond the pilot trap by treating enterprise AI as a platform capable of sustaining hundreds of dynamic models. The question facing healthcare leaders today is no longer whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be transformative, but whether our organizations can transform quickly enough to harness it at an enterprise scale. The industry has moved past the initial excitement of proof-of-concept (POC) success, only to be confronted by a structural chasm: the Pilot Trap. 

Beyond the pilot trap: how healthcare can scale AI without losing trust MedCity News; by Prashant Sareen; 6/18/26 The question facing healthcare leaders today is no longer whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be transformative, but whether our organizations can transform quickly enough to harness it at an enterprise scale. The industry has moved past the initial excitement of proof-of-concept (POC) success, only to be confronted by a structural chasm: the Pilot Trap. This is the organizational inertia and technical friction that causes successful AI models, brilliant in isolation, to fail spectacularly in the messy reality of production. Now, with enterprises looking to adopt Agentic AI systems that are capable of autonomous reasoning, planning, and task execution—the pressure, and the risk, has multiplied. 

The AI leadership edge: seven critical skills for navigating the age of Artificial Intelligence Recruit-Talent.com | Leadership and Management; 6/14/26 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has revealed a stark reality for businesses venturing into the realm of artificial intelligence (AI): a staggering 70% of AI implementations fail to deliver their anticipated business value. ... The MIT study, coupled with extensive real-world application, has identified seven pivotal leadership skills that are instrumental in distinguishing effective AI leaders from their less successful counterparts. ...

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