Literature Review

Innovations in serious illness care with Bree Owens Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux; 2/19/25 In this episode of TCNtalks, host Chris Comeaux interviews Bree Owens, a licensed clinical social worker and co-founder of The Holding Group.  They discuss Bree’s journey in the healthcare field, particularly in Palliative Care. Bree shares insights on learning the importance of meaningful conversations with patients and their families about care options, which led her to the unique model of The Holding Group.  Her organization has created space, hence the name The Holding Group, for a patient-centered approach, helping patients and their families find the right care at the right place and at the right time.  Bree emphasizes the significance of informed consent and the role of social workers in facilitating these discussions to enhance patient outcomes and satisfaction.

Navigating palliative care models in ACO partnerships Hospice News; by Markisan Naso; 2/14/25 Partnerships between health care providers and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) can help to create effective, value-based palliative care models for patients, but navigating the development of those relationships requires communication and a true commitment to collaboration. ... “ACOs are looking for high-quality care that reduces avoidable crises, and specialty palliative care has been proven to do just that,” Allison Silvers, chief of health care transformation at the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), told Palliative Care News. ... 

Non-profit news: Sullivans commit $1.6M to support palliative care The Swellesley Report, Wellesley, MA; by Bob Brown; 2/11/25 Steve and Rebecca Sullivan of Wellesley have made a $1.6 million commitment to support palliative care at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. This adds to their $1.5M gift in 2021 to endow the chief of palliative care position.

Early palliative care improves EOL comfort in colorectal cancerTargeted Oncology; by Roman Fabbricatore; 1/30/25A real-world study presented at the 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium found that early palliative care in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) can lead to fewer invasive treatments, improving patient comfort at the end of life. Data revealed that among patients with early-onset CRC who died during hospitalization, palliative care was associated with significant reductions in multiple invasive interventions.

Three state snapshots of pediatric palliative care: California, Massachusetts, and VermontNational Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP); by Neva Kaye and Heather Smith; 1/13/25 Pediatric palliative care is an important component of the system of care for children with serious illness and their families. Palliative care can provide relief from symptoms, improve satisfaction and outcomes, and help address critical needs during difficult times. However, many children and families who could benefit from palliative care are unable to access it. State Medicaid and Title V Maternal and Child Health Service Block Grant programs are working to address this issue. ...

5 ‘Hidden Gem’ Palliative Care News Stories in 2024Palliative Care News; by Holly Vossel; 12/27/24Palliative care providers have explored diverse routes to improve quality and access to their services in 2024. Below are five under-the-radar stories that, while important, didn’t make our most read this year. The topics spanned evolving reimbursement trends, innovative care delivery partnerships and research examining the biggest barriers among undeserved populations.

2024’s most read palliative care news stories Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 12/20/24 “Access” was the watchword in the palliative care community during 2024, as providers sought more ways to reach the right patients at the right time. However, the momentum toward greater access is slow, even though researchers, payers, providers and regulators increasingly recognized the value of palliative when it comes to improved quality and health care expenditures. The following are the most-read Palliative Care News articles of 2024. This year’s top coverage spanned a wide range of payment, legislative and research trends impacting the future delivery of palliative care.

Impact of transition to home palliative care on patient support and prescriptions Physician's Weekly; 12/19/24 The following is a summary of “Evaluating the Benefits of Transition to Home Palliative Care: Pharmacological Prescriptions, Social, and Psychological Support Post-Referral,” published in the November 2024 issue of Primary Care by Ribeiro et al. Community palliative care teams provide at-home care based on referral criteria that prioritize functional status and clinical complexity. They focus on patients with limited benefit from continued hospital care. Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess the quality of referrals and the transition to community palliative care teams. ... They concluded that most complex patients were successfully monitored and died at home, with hospital deaths reserved for exceptional cases. There was no significant difference in the biopsychosocial approach between patients followed by various palliative care teams, indicating varying approaches. 

Palliative medicine for the community paramedic Journal of Emergency Medical Services (JEMS) - The Conscience of EMS; by Maurice Paquette; 12/17/24 The role of the paramedic is evolving. ... EMS has become a catch-all, a gateway into a somewhat—if not totally—fractured healthcare system. ... The landscape of healthcare is shifting as well. The pandemic, coupled with the realization of self-care, well-being, and mental health struggles has caused drastic reduction in the number of healthcare workers, and the amount of experience in skills that those healthcare workers carried with them. ... Over the past many years, we’ve seen a push for the idea of the community paramedic, as well as mobile healthcare. The establishment of a community paramedic program, especially in rural areas of the United States, would provide non-emergent care, under expanded scope and under the direction of a physician in the patient’s home.  According to a literature review in the International Journal of Paramedicine, the most common community paramedic program goals are to “aid patients in chronic disease management, reduce emergency department visits, reduce hospital admissions/readmissions, and reduce Healthcare costs.” Editor's note: Pair this with the article we posted yesterday, Characteristics of patients enrolled in hospice presenting to the emergency department.

Palliative care may improve quality of life for stroke survivors and their family members American Heart Association - Stroke News & Brain Health; by Newsroom; 12/16/24 Palliative care ... can help improve quality of life for stroke survivors as well as their family members, according to “Palliative and End-of-Life Care in Stroke,” a new scientific statement published today in the Association’s peer-reviewed scientific journal Stroke. ... The new statement complements the Association’s 2014 Scientific Statement on Palliative and End-of-Life Care in Stroke, which covered core palliative care competencies and skills for health care professionals who treat stroke patients. The statement includes strategies to improve communication about prognosis and goals-of-care, address psychosocial needs such as coping with loss, navigate complex health care systems and prepare for death with end-of-life care when necessary. It also highlights the substantial inequities that exist in palliative care after stroke across sociodemographic and regional characteristics and the need to reduce those disparities.

Two states lead the pack on palliative care access, many lag behind Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 12/10/24 Two states — Massachusetts and Oregon — rise above the rest when it comes to access to palliative care. This is according to the new rankings from the Center to Advance Palliative Care, America’s Readiness to Meet the Needs of People with Serious Illness Scorecard. The scorecard ranks each state’s capacity to deliver high-quality care to people facing serious illness on a five-star scale by evaluating five domains, according to Stacie Sinclair, the associate director for policy and care transformation at the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC). To develop the scorecard, CAPC applied an updated methodology that considers metrics beyond those used in previous reports, which only examined the availability of palliative care in hospitals with 50 beds or more. 

Bloom Healthcare CEO: Integrating palliative care into every decision Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 12/3/24 The house call provider Bloom Healthcare has leveraged its integrated palliative-primary care model to achieve substantial reductions in hospitalizations and health care costs. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently recognized Bloom as a top performing High-Needs Accountable Care Organization under the agency’s Realizing Equity, Access and Community Health (ACO REACH) model. Through its ACO REACH program, Bloom reduced unplanned hospital readmissions by 25% and realized a gross cost savings rate of 24.6%. The company’s patients averaged 326.7 days at home during  2023. Bloom Healthcare cares for about 10,000 high-needs patients with a comprehensive primary care and care management model that incorporates palliative care. The company currently operates in Colorado and Texas. ... Palliative Care News sat down with Bloom CEO Dr. Thomas Lally to discuss the strategies the company used to garner these results and how palliative care factored in. [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

Palliative care bypasses Black heart disease patients The St. Louis American; by Alvin A. Reid; 11/30/24 A study by Saint Louis University researchers paints a grim picture for many heart failure patients in America – and the outlook is worse for African Americans. The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, found that only one in eight patients with heart failure nationwide receive palliative care consultations within five years of diagnosis. Alarmingly, Black people were 15% less likely to receive palliative care compared to white patients with similar heart health illness. Other recent respective studies illustrate the higher risk and mortality rates for cardiovascular disease in the Black population – further demonstrating that the missing palliative care options have a greater negative impact on African American health. New statistics from a medical team at EHproject show African American women are at a greater risk for cardiovascular disease than their white counterparts. It found that 47.3% of Black women have heart disease. If they do not have it currently, they are 2.4 times more likely to develop heart disease. ... A March 2023 study published in JAMA Cardiology showed that Black men remain at the highest risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. ...