Literature Review

Hospice spending, care quality scores by state Becker's Hospital Review; by Elizabeth Gregerson; 2/18/26 California and Nevada hospice providers had the lowest care-quality scores despite spending the most per beneficiary to provide care between Jan. 1, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2024, according to CMS data released Feb. 18. Rhode Island and West Virginia had the highest hospice care quality scores during the data collection period. CMS’ Hospice Quality Reporting Program includes data submitted directly by hospice providers, from Medicare hospice claims, and from the Hospice Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey. Here are the hospice care quality scores and per-beneficiary spending amounts by state between Jan. 1, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2024, according to CMS: ...

Integrating compassion and policy: Highlights from IAHPC Advocacy, 2025Palliative Medicine in Practice: by Katherine Irene PettusIn 2025, the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) advanced advocacy for palliative care as an ethical, clinical, and human rights imperative. As a non-state actor in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO), the association worked across policy, faith, and professional domains to integrate palliative care into universal health coverage frameworks. This report summarizes IAHPC’s global activities from February to November 2025, including engagement at the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA), collaboration with WHO and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the launch of the Leadership and Advocacy Development (LEAD2) program, and new interfaith and educational initiatives.Assistant Editor's note: As I peruse peer reviewed journals to bring you relevant and current summaries of research, I am amazed at the large number of articles published now about palliative care. It wasn't this way just a few years ago. As a long-time hospice and palliative care nurse, I am delighted to see the ground swell of interest in the principles, the need, the value, and the effectiveness of palliative care. I feel like 'We Have Arrived' (finally!). Kudos to all of you who have worked tirelessly over many years to educate professionals and the public at large, about palliative care and its virtues. I know we are not done; there is more to do. But we've come a long way baby!

How nurses assess care goals to boost patient satisfaction informa; by Sara Heath; 1/21/26 Nurses at New Jersey's Valley Hospital boosted patient satisfaction by 14% by soliciting and understanding patient care goals. Krystal LaNeve, a nurse at Valley Hospital in Paramus, New Jersey, often finds herself talking a lot with her patients. ... [Dialogue is] key to patient-centered care but operationalizing that can be an uphill battle. Healthcare teams are strapped for time, and it can be difficult to discuss care preferences with patients ...  Editor's Note: While most of this article is behind a paywall, a similar article is posted on the ANA Nursing Resources Hub, "Ways Nurses Can Improve Patient Care."

Hospice enrollment in young adult LGBTQ + decedents with cancer: A multi-site single healthcare system studyBMC Palliative Care; by Sanjna Rajput, Riham Suleiman, Brittany Kimball, Aminah Jatoi, Elizabeth Cathcart-Rake; 11/25Methods [of the study]: A single healthcare system, 4000 + self-reported LGBTQ + database of patients with cancer identified young adult decedents (18-39 years old at death) to report the percentage who died with hospice, the conversations that preceded hospice enrollment, time-on-hospice, and circumstances that surrounded the deaths of those not enrolled. From the database, ... 67% ... were enrolled in hospice ... Conversations that preceded enrollment discussed (1) limited cancer therapeutic options with worsening end-of-life symptoms and how hospice could help ("discussed… decline and how patient would not want to die hooked up to machines"); (2) medical staff's acknowledgement of same sex spouse/life partners ("[She] is here with her wife"); (3) the inclusion of the birth family in end-of-life discussions, especially if the decedent had been single ("Her father met us… this was difficult news for him to hear.").  Conclusions: Most young adult LGBTQ + decedents with cancer receive hospice services with thoughtful and inclusive conversations that precede enrollment.

Canadian woman approved for assisted suicide instead of getting surgery LifeNews.com; by Steven Ertelt; 12/8/25 A Canadian woman suffering from parathyroid disease has revealed that she is considering assisted suicide because she cannot get the surgery she needs. Jolene Van Alstine, from Saskatchewan, suffers from a rare form of parathyroid disease, which results in extreme bone pain, nausea and vomiting. She requires surgery to remove a remaining parathyroid, but no surgeons in Saskatchewan are able to perform the operation. In order to be referred to another province for the operation, Van Alstine must first be seen by an endocrinologist, yet no Saskatchewan endocrinologists are currently accepting new patients. Van Alstine commented that the pain has become so unbearable that she has applied and been approved for Canada’s euthanasia and assisted suicide programme, with the ending of her life scheduled to take place on 7 January 2026.

Quality of death and end-of-life care among stroke patients: A comparative study of Mexican American and non-Hispanic White surrogate decision makersEquity Neuroscience; by Imadeddin Hijazi, Lewis B Morgenstern, Robert Michael Miller, Erin Case, Madeline Kwicklis, Darin B Zahuranec; 10/25 Racial and ethnic differences in patterns of end-of-life care have been previously reported, though there has been little work on the quality of end-of-life care in Mexican American (MA) stroke patients. Contrary to our original hypothesis, we did not identify an ethnic difference in surrogate reports of the quality of death and end-of-life care after stroke between MA patients and NHW [non-Hispanic White] patients after adjusting for demographic and clinical factors. This result is encouraging, as it implies that in this community, ethnic disparities in end-of-life care may not be as pronounced as reported in other populations. Furthermore, the high scores on both surveys indicate overall satisfaction with care regardless of ethnicity. 

Not just a ‘soft skill’: How academic hospitals are embedding professionalism into strategy Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 11/18/25 Hospitals and health systems are formalizing leadership roles focused on clinical excellence and professionalism — particularly at academic medical centers. Leaders say their institutions see the value in this approach to improve patient safety, strengthen workplace culture and support clinician well-being. ... Becker’s connected with these leaders to discuss the drivers that led their organizations to elevate this focus, how they link it to strategic goals, and examples of meaningful success. 

Hospice: Track errors, payment caps to avoid facing costly penalties Home Health Line, DecisionHealth; by MaryKent Wolff; 11/13/25 Keep a close eye on possible claim and billing mistakes that could lead to issues related to your payment cap. While increased revenue may seem like a good thing for providers, overpayments could lead to heightened scrutiny and financial hardships for your agency. [May require subscription for additional information]

Integrated clinical-social care and boundaries of health careJAMA Health Forum; by Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, Marco Thimm-Kaiser, Adam Benzekri, Kody H. Kinsley; 10/25After a decade of growing momentum, the future role of health care in addressing patients’ health-related social needs (HRSNs) through integrated clinical-social care is uncertain. There is agreement that increasing health care expenditures are a significant burden on the national budget, but there is disagreement over remedies to reduce costs while improving outcomes. We argue that a constructive debate over the role of integrated clinical-social care within health care reforms requires a shared vision for its implementation. We advance this debate by delineating the boundaries of what the health care system, social welfare system, and bridging infrastructure between them can deliver in an integrated clinical-social care paradigm.

Enhancing end-of-life quality metrics: The role of palliative care in a community oncology practice.JCO Oncology Practice; by Katherine Baker, Aaron J. Lyss, Larry Edward Bilbrey, L. Johnetta Blakely, Casey Chollet-Lipscomb, Natalie R. Dickson, Leah Owens, Sandhya Mudumbi; 10/25As value-based payment (VBP) models expand in oncology, care teams adopt innovative strategies to improve outcomes, enhance patient experience, and meet evolving quality metrics (QMs). End-of-life care is one area where timely access to hospice remains inconsistent—especially in rural and underserved communities—and often outside oncology practices' direct control. Additionally, advances like immunotherapy, which may be well tolerated near end-of-life, challenge the hospice model as the sole supportive care option. NCCN and ASCO guidelines recommend early palliative care in advanced cancers, and many community oncology practices now integrate palliative care-to provide longitudinal, goal-concordant care that supports quality of life throughout treatment. Including palliative care receipt in end-of-life QMs offers a more nuanced, equitable way to evaluate care, ensuring patients receive needed support regardless of geography or treatment stage.

Incarceration and quality of cancer careJAMA Network Open; by Oluwadamilola T. Oladeru, Ilana B. Richman, Jenerius A. Aminawung, Jason Weinstein, Lisa B. Puglisi, Rajni Mehta, Hsiu-Ju Lin, Emily A. Wang, Cary P. Gross; 10/25The incarcerated population in the US is aging, and an estimated 15% of incarcerated adults, or approximately 175,000 individuals, are now 55 years or older. With this demographic shift, diseases of aging have become more prevalent, and cancer now ranks as the most common cause of death among people who are incarcerated in the US. Despite the growing prevalence, cancer outcomes among those incarcerated lag behind those with no history of incarceration. Individuals diagnosed with cancer while incarcerated or immediately following release have an approximate 2-fold increase in cancer-related mortality compared with the general population, even after adjusting for stage at diagnosis. Along with other published literature, this work suggests that gaps in quality of care may contribute to observed disparities in outcomes.Assistant Editor's note: Most of us cannot imagine what it would be like to be in prison. With cancer. And perhaps even dying there. Steven Garner knows. He spent many decades as an inmate at a state penitentiary. While there, he became a hospice volunteer supporting dying inmates, training other volunteers, and he served to pioneer Hospice in Corrections programs throughout the US. Steven is out of prison now, living his best life in Colorado and consulting around the nation about ways to improve end of life care for incarcerated persons. Oprah Winfrey was involved in sharing Steven's story in a Netflix documentary called Serving Life. NPR published an article about Steven in February 2024. Additionally, Hospice Analytics has posted a link to a 20-minute video about Steven's life and work in prison: Angola Prison Hospice: Opening the Door. And finally, if you'd like more information, Steven Garner has a website. 

National Hospice Locator: Updated quality sorting algorithmHospice Analytics blog; by Cordt T. Kassner; 10/14/25

‘A good death’: How compassionate care helps people navigate the end of life YaleNews - Health & Medicine, New Haven, CT; by Meg Dalton; 10/13/25Palliative and hospice care both focus on improving the quality of life of people with serious illness. In a Q&A, Shelli Feder discusses the future of compassionate care in the U.S. — and what it means to have a “good death.” The hospice movement got its start in the United States right here in New Haven.  In the late 1960s, former Yale School of Nursing (YSN) Dean Florence Schorske Wald attended a speech given by hospice pioneer, Dr. Cicely Saunders, at Yale School of Medicine. ...