Literature Review

Geographic distance between perinatal and pediatric palliative care services and implications for practice standards American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Radion Svynarenko, PhD, Meaghann S. Weaver, MD, PhD, MPH, HEC-C, Ambria Williams, BA,Ashley Kiefer Autrey, MD, DonnaMaria E. Cortezzo, MD, Abigail B. Wilpers, PhD, Abagail D. Cohen, MA, HEC-C,  Lisa C. Lindley, PhD, RN, FPCN, FAAN; 5/14/26 Background: Practice standards recommend early integration of perinatal and pediatric palliative care (PC) with seamless transitions across settings. Little is known about the proximity between these services nationally. Results: 418 pediatric PC physicians and 296 perinatal PC programs were included. Five states (CA, TX, NY, FL, OH) had the highest concentrations of pediatric PC physicians. ... Median drive times to the nearest pediatric PC physician for programs lacking on-site expertise reached approximately 5 hours in NM and SD; 3 hours in ND and MT; and 2 hours in AL, CO, WV, and TN.

Hospice and students 'break taboos' in podcast BBC News, Staffordshire, United Kingdom; by Aida Fofana; 5/26/26 A university and hospice charity have collaborated to launch a podcast, aiming to break the taboo around death and dying by discussing grief and hospice care. Birmingham City University (BCU) students and St Giles Hospice in Staffordshire created the Dying to Tell You Something podcast, featuring guests including volunteers, fundraisers and the hospice's director of clinical services, Leon Ratcliffe.

CMS clarifies telehealth policy during enrollment moratorium Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 5/21/26 Hospices will continue to be able to use telehealth for face-to-face recertifications during the hospice and home health enrollment moratorium, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS). ... The federal statute stipulates that telehealth recertifications are not permitted in regions that are under an enrollment moratorium. This has raised some questions about how hospices can use telehealth for the next six months. “Perhaps the most troubling unintended consequence of a nationwide moratorium is its apparent impact on telehealth …” a trio of state associations said in a joint statement. “In rural communities and congested urban areas alike, this imposes severe and unnecessary burdens on the most vulnerable patients at the most vulnerable moments of their lives.”

What misconceptions do people have about hospice care What's Next? - Buffalo*Toronto Public Media | PBS; by Kelley Clem; 5/20/26Many people associate hospice care with the final days of life, but healthcare advocates say there are still major misconceptions surrounding both hospice and palliative care. On this episode of What’s Next?, Kelley Clem of Hospice Buffalo and Palliative Care Buffalo explains the differences between the two forms of care and why early intervention can improve quality of life for patients living with chronic illness. She also discusses how palliative care helps manage symptoms at any stage of illness, while hospice focuses on comfort and support during the final months of life, including emotional and spiritual care for families.

Mayo Clinic and Bayesian Health co-develop new AI-powered solution to expand palliative care access and improve patient outcomes PR Newswire, Rochester, MN and New York , NY; by Bayesian Health; 5/19/26Mayo Clinic and Bayesian Health today announced they have co-developed an artificial intelligence (AI) solution to identify hospitalized patients who may benefit from palliative care earlier in their stay. The solution is designed to support timely consultations, with the objective of improving goal-concordant care for patients with serious illness and reducing non-beneficial readmissions.

Palliative care intervention for patients with end-stage liver disease-A cluster randomized clinical trialJAMA Internal Medicine; by Manisha Verma, Victor Navarro, Andrzej Kosinski, Tamar Taddei, Richard Kalman, A. Sidney Barritt, Simona Jakab, Marina Serper, Eric Orman, Maya Balakrishnan, Mina Rakoski, Don Rockey, Kristel Hunt, Roniel Cabrera, Ayse Aytaman, Binu John, Gyorgy Baffy, Rohit Nathan, Elliot Tapper, Marina Roytman, Brendan McGuire, Nicholas Hoppmann, Christopher Woodrell, Marie Bakitas, Yang Yue, Bryce Reeve, Li Lin, Rebecca Tantala, Michael Volk; 4/26Palliative care improves quality of life (QoL) in advanced illnesses, but data in end-stage liver disease (ESLD) are limited. It is unknown whether palliative care delivered by hepatologists is effective when compared with palliative care specialists. This cluster trial found that palliative care delivered by trained hepatologists was comparable with palliative care delivered by palliative care specialists in improving QoL in patients with ESLD and was associated with greater improvement in patient satisfaction, demonstrating the effectiveness among enrolled patients.Assistant Editor's note: That's the beauty of palliative care. It can be layered upon many other specialties and sub-specialties and utilized by a variety of health care disciplines. The science of palliative care, the skill and knowledge base involved, is adaptable and valuable for almost anyone working in direct patient care in many different health care settings.

Background on CMS’s anti-fraud efforts in hospice careAEI - The American Enterprise Institute; by James C. Capretta; 5/21/26 ... For broader context, Congress added hospice coverage to Medicare in the 1980s to provide lower-cost and more patient-centered settings for terminally ill beneficiaries. ... Like home health, the hospice benefit is vulnerable to abuse because the barriers to entering the market are lower than in more regulated settings. The capital investment to get started is minimal in comparison with building a new hospital, outpatient clinic, or nursing home. Further, the potential profit margins are high if a service provider is confident that the per diem is above what is needed to provide the required services.Although CMS’s focus on fraud in hospice care is warranted, stronger oversight by itself may not produce large program savings. In theory, more use of hospice care could lead to lower overall costs if the sponsoring agencies are competent and can help their patients avoid costly hospital or nursing home admissions. CMS’s investigations need to be subtle enough to weed out the bad actors without making it overly difficult for vulnerable patients to get the care they need in their own homes or in other low-cost community settings.

[New Zealand] Hospices turning away dying patients as funding shortfall bites Europe Says | New Zealand; 5/16/26 Hospices across New Zealand are being forced to turn away dying patients as they struggle to cope with rising costs and insufficient government funding. There are 32 hospices nationwide providing palliative care, but the sector says it needs an additional $80 million to $100 million a year from the Government to remain financially sustainable. 

Ohio nurses help hospice patients navigate end-of-life decisions Public News Service; by Nadia Ramlagan; 5/15/26 On the heels of National Nurses Week, hospice nurses are raising awareness about access to compassionate end-of-life care and medical decisions in the Black community. ... Ottamissiah "Missy" Moore, a longtime hospice nurse and member of the African American Leadership Council for Compassion & Choices, said her personal experience relying on hospice care showed her how important it can be for families. ... A recent study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association found around 34% of Black study participants died while using hospice services compared to more than 46% of their white counterparts. Moore added the disparity echoes other racial inequities in health care, such as nonwhite people being less likely to receive pain medications and higher rates of maternal mortality. 

The professional guest: Ethical challenges in home-based end-of-life care among interprofessional teamsNursing Ethics; Inbal Halevi Hochwald, Gila Yakov, Moran Weiss, Liron Inchi, Inbal Mayan, Ron Sabar; 4/26Home-based end-of-life palliative care presents unique ethical challenges that differ fundamentally from those in institutional settings. Healthcare professionals navigate the complex role of being both clinical experts and guests in patients' domestic environments, operating in a context where professional authority is continuously negotiated rather than institutionally established. Home-based palliative care places professionals at the intersection of clinical responsibility and domestic sovereignty, a position for which existing frameworks offer insufficient guidance. Addressing these structural and relational challenges requires both individual-level preparation, including training in ethical decision-making in low-control environments, and systemic policy reform.

Generous community support drives new hospice home project: longtime community member LeRoy Havel donates $500,000 to End of Life Hospice Home coming to Washington Southeast Iowa Union, Washington, IA; by Giovanni Coronel; 5/11/26 A generous donation of $500,000 from longtime community member and benefactor LeRoy Havel was given in support of an End of Life Hospice Home (EOLH) coming to Washington during a presentation on May 8. A EOLH is a place where individuals can spend their final days in comfort, dignity, and peace with around-the-clock-care in a home-like setting. It will be the first one of its kind in Washington and in Washington County.

Palliative care and age-friendly care - CAPC Position Statement CAPC | Center to Advance Palliative Care; Position Statement; 5/11/26 The U.S. health care system is evolving to better meet the needs of a rapidly growing aging population by advancing age-friendly care. CAPC’s position statement outlines how palliative care can accelerate IHI recognition and support success with CMS measures. It also offers practical recommendations for leaders and policymakers to integrate palliative care into age-friendly care.