Literature Review

Palliative care in the intensive care unit: An integrative review of intensive care unit health care professionals' views and experiences Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing (DCCN); by Berit Lindahl and Susan Kirk; May-Jun 2025 ... Our findings suggest there is variation in how palliative care in the ICU is conceptualized and interpreted. Intensive care unit professionals need enhanced competencies and training to develop their confidence in providing palliative care and improve role clarity. Such training should focus on serious illness conversations with patients/families and interdisciplinary teamwork. Integration of palliative consultants into the ICU could be further developed.

Iowa introduces "Mason's Law" to become 1st state to have a pediatric palliative care center license Cision PRWeb, Des Moines, IA; by Children's Respite Homes of America; 3/31/25 In a historic move, the Iowa State Legislature has taken a groundbreaking step to support families with medically fragile children by introducing House File HF 933 (formerly HSB 267). This legislation, known as "Mason's Law," would make Iowa the first state in the nation to establish a dedicated "Pediatric Palliative Care Center" license, laying the foundation for a new model of care for children with chronic, complex, and life- threatening illnesses.

MaineHealth Memorial Hospital leverages telehealth in unexpected ways MaineHealth, North Conway, ME; Press Release; 3/312/25 When a patient presenting with stroke symptoms arrives at MaineHealth Memorial Hospital's emergency department, time is of the essence. It could take hours to arrange for medical transport and get that patient to a tertiary care center like MaineHealth Maine Medical Center to see a stroke neurologist. Using telehealth, these patients can receive this specialized care if it is necessary in less than 30 minutes. While telehealth is often associated with remote home visits, MaineHealth Memorial Hospital also uses it to enhance on-site care. Using remote consult technology, MaineHealth specialists can offer local care teams expert advice at the bedside or in the exam room. [Continue reading ...]

Palliative care in home health: Misconceptions and market opportunities Home Health Care News; by Joyce Famakinwa; 3/28/25 While palliative care remains an uncommon offering among home-based health care providers, forward-thinking providers have recognized a growing market demand and are strategically expanding their service offerings to include palliative care solutions. Expanding service lines to include palliative care can help home-based care providers stand out from their peers, industry insiders told Home Health Care News. However, a significant knowledge gap is slowing the adoption of palliative care within the home health community. Home health care clinicians, patients and caregivers all report insufficient knowledge of palliative care, according to a recent study conducted by Columbia Nursing research and published in the Journal Home Healthcare Now. [Continue reading ...]

The Healing of America with T.R. Reid TCNtalks Podcast; podcast by Chris Comeaux with T.R. Reid; 3/26/25 In this episode of TCN Talks, host Chris Comeaux interviews NY Times bestselling author T. R. Reid.  They discuss T. R. Reid’s experiences and insights from researching healthcare systems around the world, particularly focusing on the need for universal coverage and the various models of healthcare delivery. ... This is a great listen as the U.S. spends more on healthcare, yet we are not even in the top 10 in the world.  It’s hard to make one aspect of healthcare successful, like Hospice and Palliative Care, if the broader ecosystem it resides in is flawed and unsustainable.  Join us; this is very timely.

Palliative care clinic offers supportive care for patients with end-stage heart failure Yale School of Medicine; by Rachel Martin; 3/25/25 ... Michael Beasley, MD, [Yale] assistant professor of medicine (cardiovascular medicine), and Nora Segar, MD, [Yale] assistant clinical professor (general internal medicine) and director of palliative medicine at the Saint Raphael Campus of Yale New Haven Hospital, recently established a new outpatient clinic to provide dedicated palliative care for people with end-stage heart failure. ... “For many patients with advanced heart failure, hospice care does not meet their needs until very late in their course,” said Segar, an early champion of the clinic. “Instead, by providing early palliative care outside of the hospital, when it’s not a time of crisis, we can help patients accept and cope with their prognosis, manage their symptoms, and continue making plans for the future.” New patients receive longer appointments, which allows the team to hear their stories and start building relationships with them. [Continue reading ...]Editor's note: For all palliative and hospice leaders, we highlight this last statement: "New patients receive longer appointments, which allows the team to hear their stories and start building relationships with them."

Avoidable mortality rises in US, bucking global decline Becker's Clinical Leadership; by Mackenzie Bean; 3/26/25 Avoidable mortality has increased in the U.S. for more than a decade, contrasting decreases seen in many other high-income countries, according to a study published March 24 in JAMA Internal Medicine. For the study, researchers at the Brown University School of Public Health analyzed mortality data from the CDC and World Health Organization for people 74 and younger between 2009 and 2021, spanning all 50 states and 40 high-income countries. Avoidable mortality includes deaths that could have been prevented through effective public health measures or timely, high-quality healthcare. [Continue reading ...]

Pope Francis was so close to death that doctors considered ending treatment Reuters, Vatican City; by Joshua McElwee; 3/25/25 Pope Francis came so close to death at one point during his 38-day fight in hospital against pneumonia that his doctors considered ending treatment so he could die in peace, the head of the pope's medical team said. After a breathing crisis on February 28 ... "there was a real risk he might not make it," said Sergio Alfieri, a physician at Rome's Gemelli hospital. "We had to choose if we would stop there and let him go, or to go forward and push it with all the drugs and therapies possible, running the highest risk of damaging his other organs," Alfieri told Italy's Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Tuesday [3/25]. "In the end, we took this path," he said. [Continue reading ...]

Assisted ventilation withdrawal in motor neuron disease: updated results BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care; by Lucy Bleazard, Jonathan Palmer, David Wenzel, Thomas Jeffery, and Christina Faull; 3/24/25 Introduction: Patients with ventilator-dependent motor neuron disease (MND) may request withdrawal of their assisted ventilation. Facilitating this process as a healthcare professional (HCP) can be emotionally and practically challenging. The Association for Palliative Medicine (APM) issued guidance to support HCPs and invited anonymised accounts of the withdrawal process to provide an update on the guidance. ... Results: Younger patients tended to need higher doses to achieve adequate symptom management prior to withdrawal. Practices of weaning the ventilator varied significantly between respondents. The median time to death following withdrawal of ventilation was 30 min, with three-quarters of patients dying within 2 hours. Conclusion: This is the largest data set to date regarding the withdrawal of assisted ventilation in MND. This updated analysis reaffirms that a personalised, titrated approach remains appropriate and effective. The revised APM Guidance 2025 incorporates new sections on recommendations for managing the ventilator. [Continue reading ...]

Bringing palliative care to every patient with cancer: A conversation with Janet L. Abrahm, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, FASCO The ASCO Post, in partnership with the American Society of Clinical Oncology; by Jo Cavallo; 3/25/25 Janet L. Abrahm, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, FASCO, ... has become a widely recognized leader in the field of supportive care and palliative medicine, serving for nearly a decade on the leadership team of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and helping to craft the first Hospice and Palliative Medicine certifying examination offered by the American Board of Internal Medicine. ... In a wide-ranging interview with The ASCO Post, Dr. Abrahm discussed the importance of providing every patient with cancer access to palliative medicine throughout survivorship, how oncologists can become more effective communicators, and strategies to alleviate patients’ suffering at the end of life.

How a Lewiston health care nonprofit diversified to sustain services Mainebiz; by Laurie Schreiber; 3/20/25 Ken Albert leads Lewiston-based Andwell Health Partners, an independent, nonprofit home- and community-based health care organization. The former Androscoggin Home Healthcare and Hospice, founded in 1966, focused on home health care and hospice in Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties. Rebranded in 2024 to reflect its expansion in recent years, Andwell now has locations throughout Maine, with additional service lines including in-home hospice care, Maine’s first inpatient hospice facility, the Maine Center for Palliative Medicine, community and behavioral health, mobile wound care, in-home care giving, private-duty nursing, therapy care, ad maternal and child health. This week, it opened Andwell Audiology in Lewiston. 

Trump’s first 60 days: The impact on the home health industry Home Health News; by Audrie Martin; 3/20/25 Tax, immigration and diversity, equity and inclusion policies are some of the top-of-mind regulatory concerns for home health agencies in 2025. The first 60 days of the Trump Administration and their impact on the home health care industry were highlighted during a webinar hosted by the Polsinelli Law Firm on Thursday. National Alliance for Care at Home CEO Steve Landers and Home Care Association of America (HCAOA) CEO Jason Lee joined representatives from Polsinelli to discuss potential Medicaid cuts, the importance of extending telehealth services, and the need for workforce expansion. The webinar also explored how executive orders and administrative actions are affecting home care and hospice services. [Click on the title's link to continue reading.]

Feasibility study of using electronic patient-reported outcomes to screen patients with advanced solid cancers for palliative care needsJournal of Palliative Medicine; Tara L Kaufmann, Matthew Kearney, Dagoberto Cortez, John W Saxton, Katie Goodfellow, Carolyn Smith, Patrick Chang, Katherine Sebastian, Aaron Galaznik, Julie Scott, Elizabeth Ann Kvale, Arif H Kamal, Antonia V Bennett, Angela M Stover, Ashley M Henneghan, Michael Pignone, Gabrielle Betty Rocque; 3/25Standardized, needs-based screening and triage systems are essential to more effectively address patients' palliative care needs. We developed a 13-item ePRO [electronic patient-reported outcomes] palliative care survey to assess multidimensional palliative care needs and conducted a pilot study (n = 25) of a palliative care screening intervention using ePRO monitoring and presentation of ePRO reports to a multidisciplinary care team. Patients found the ePRO palliative survey acceptable and appropriate. Screening patients for unmet palliative needs using ePRO monitoring is feasible, acceptable, and appropriate among patients, but more work is needed to understand the perspectives of diverse patients and how to integrate ePRO palliative care screening into clinical workflows.