Literature Review

A qualitative study with patients, care-partners, clinicians, and bioethicists to identify ethical considerations of artificial intelligence tools in palliative carePalliative Medicine; by John Y. Rhee, Paul Miller, Zachary Tentor, Amanda Reich, Alexi A. Wright, Charlotta Lindvall; 1/26The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine has surged. Given the sensitive nature of palliative care, it is crucial to apply AI tools in a patient-centered and ethical manner. From the interviews we extracted five main themes: (1) Primacy of the doctor-patient relationship over AI performance; (2) Humans have intuition and nuance that AI lacks; (3) Agreement about the importance of oversight of AI tools; (4) New AI technologies should include a process for patient education; and (5) AI increases efficiency, scalability, and a more unified approach to serious illness. When building and implementing AI-based tools, we recommend: establishing oversight committees; reflecting on the unique contributions of humans to care; proactively educating patients and contextualizing the tools; and ensuring data use is restricted to clinical care.

Medical Aid in Dying: A narrative review of the recent academic literature in the United States Cureus; by Holland Kaplan, Soraira Pacheco, Keziah M. Thomas, Christopher L. Ulmschneider, Anjiya Sulaiman, Chandni Lotwala, Derek Dawes, Issa A. Hanna, Courtney Nguyen, Caroline G. Snider, Gabriel M. Aisenberg; 2/23/26 ... To assess how academic discourse may shape public opinion and policy in the United States, we conducted a narrative review of the literature published between 2020 and 2024. Articles were categorized as supportive, opposing, or neutral, and patterns were examined across authorship, disciplinary focus, and target populations. ... Authorship discipline strongly influenced position, with legal journals disproportionately supportive and religious journals more frequently opposed. Arguments favoring MAiD emphasized autonomy and relief of suffering, whereas opposing articles highlighted risks to vulnerable populations and potential harm. 

Positive experiences of seriously ill lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons and their partners with healthcare providers: Project Respect American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Cathy Berkman, PhD, MSW, Gary L. Stein, JD, MSW, Noelle Marie Javier, MD, Kimberly D. Acquaviva, PhD, MSW, David Godfrey, JD, Sean O’Mahony, MD, Shail Maingi, MD, Carey Candrian, PhD, Christian González-Rivera, MUP, Imani Woody, PhD, and William E. Rosa, PhD; 1/24/26 Results: There were numerous reports of respectful, affirming, and competent care, including: healthcare providers who were open about discussing a respondent’s LGBTQ+ identity and their specific health concerns; intake and assessment forms that included pre-specified choices for sexual orientations and gender identities; using correct names, pronouns, and gender; healthcare providers who identified as LGBTQ+ or signaled being an ally; and treating spouses, partners, and widows respectfully and including them in decision-making.

Husband with ‘caregiver burnout’ pushes wife to end her life with Medical Aid in Dying despite her wishes: Report People Magazine; by Vanessa Etienne; 2/3/26 Medical professionals express concerns about the speed of MAID assessments.

How to responsibly use AI in palliative care and hematologic malignancies CancerNetwork; podcast by Ram Prakash Thirugnanasambandam, MBBS; 2/2/26 In a conversation with CancerNetwork®, Ram Prakash Thirugnanasambandam, MBBS, discussed the evolving roles that artificial intelligence (AI)–based tools may play in palliative care and the management of different hematologic malignancies. ... According to Thirugnanasambandam, implementing AI into one’s workflow may help accurately predict disease subtypes and burdens among patients with leukemia, lymphoma, or multiple myeloma. ... Thirugnanasambandam also discussed some of the ethical considerations surrounding the growth of AI-based tools, highlighting information privacy concerns and potentially biased datasets as notable issues with these platforms. Although AI may assist with decision-making, Thirugnanasambandam stated that it ultimately cannot replace a human’s nuanced clinical judgment and empathy.

Healthcare leaders must confront toxicity to avoid obsolescence, SCAN Group CEO warns Time.News; by Grace Chen; 1/27/26 A new call to action from Dr. Sachin Jain emphasizes ethical leadership, honest self-assessment, and a relentless focus on patient needs as crucial for survival in a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape. Healthcare organizations face a stark choice: embrace ethical principles and actively combat internal toxicity, or risk becoming irrelevant.

Why asking about “critical abilities” is misguided: Lessons learned from the updated Serious Illness Conversation Guide Journal of General Internal Medicine; by Joel Michael Reynolds, PhD and Michael Pottash, MD, MPH; 1/20/26 The Ariadne Labs’ Serious Illness Care Program is a care delivery model that aims to improve conversations between patients and their clinicians about serious illness. This is accomplished through its foundational tool: the serious illness conversation guide. ... As of 2022, the Serious Illness Care Program has a footprint in over 44 countries and in all 50 states. The conversation guide had been translated into over 13 languages and nearly 18,000 clinicians had been trained on its use. In 2023, the Serious Illness Care Program released an updated conversation guide. ... Gone was the future-oriented question about critical abilities: “What abilities are so critical to your life that you can’t imagine living without them?” A more present-focused question about activities replaced it: “What activities bring joy and meaning to your life?” ... The revision of the Serious Illness Conversation Guide signals more than a semantic change. Its revision of the critical abilities question instead reflects a deeper reckoning with the ethical limitations of traditional advance care planning and with the import of disability bioethics. 

Ethics roundtable: Prescribing controlled substances in a terminally ill patient with suspected substance abuse disorder and opioid agreement violations American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Steven J Baumrucker, MD, FAAFP, FAAHPM, HMDC, Melissa Broome, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, ACHPN, Gregory T Carter, MD, Matt Stolick, Ph.D,  Scott P Boyles, MDiv, Gregg VandeKieft, MD, MA, Andrew Wampler, JD, Lindsay Wilson, DO, FAAFP, Carolyn George, PsyD, Matthew A Murphy, MD, and Saima Rashid, MD; January 2026 This ethics roundtable examines how clinicians should navigate prescribing controlled substances for a terminally ill patient with suspected substance use disorder and opioid agreement violations. Contributors explore the ethical tension between alleviating suffering and minimizing harm, questioning how opioid agreements apply in end-of-life care and emphasizing individualized, compassionate decision-making grounded in dignity, trust, and proportional risk.

Dying with dignity - personal perspective: The sacred ending we don’t talk about enough. Psychology Today; by Cynthia Chen-Joea DO, MPH, FAAFP, DABOM; 12/24/25 In the U.S., we spend enormous amounts of energy keeping people alive, curing, fixing, and prolonging life at all costs. What we rarely talk about is how people die. And more importantly, how poorly our system supports them when the end is clearly approaching. ... [Background story about her dad's Parkinson's and eventual death] ... Then came our request for hospice. After an evaluation, we were told he didn’t “qualify” because he had gained some weight and his albumin levels were “too high.” An arbitrary checklist, based on labs values, prevented him from getting into hospice. [Keep reading] So we tried for palliative care instead. I made call after call, only to be bounced between departments, many unclear on the difference between hospice and palliative care, ... Even as a physician, I was stunned by how many barriers we encountered simply trying to do the most humane thing: to advocate for dignity, comfort, and respect at the end of my father’s life.

Medical Aid in Dying legislation and the limits of prognostic science American Council on Science and Health; by Chuck Dinerstein, MD, MBA; 1/2/26... End-of-life issues are complex because empirical questions (what happens, works, or harms) that can be approached by science are deeply entangled with value questions (what should count as a good death, autonomy, dignity, moral limits). The recent decision by Governor Hochul of New York to advance and promise to sign a Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) bill provides us with the opportunity to consider that entanglement.

Is moral adequacy possible in the face of structural disadvantage? The experiences of health and social care staff in supporting homeless people using substances at the end of life Palliative Care and Social Practice; by Gary Witham https, Gemma Anne Yarwood, Sarah Galvani, Lucy Webb, and Sam Wright; 11/26/25 Background: Homeless people using substances at the end-of-life face many challenges in accessing and receiving good care. These can relate to poor interdisciplinary working by health and social care practitioners, stigma and structural disadvantage. Results: The data analysis resulted in three key discourse positions relating to how practitioners position themselves in relation to the practice challenges of supporting homeless people using AODs and approaching end of life. These were as follows: (i) what constitutes a good death and where, (ii) the limitations of professional boundaries and (iii) maintaining moral adequacy in the face of traumatic death.