Literature Review
All posts tagged with “Clinical News.”
Thanksgiving revisited: 2024 and 2025
11/26/25 at 03:00 AMThanksgiving revisited: 2024 and 2025 I-70 West and Beyond - Travels Through Life; blog by Laurie Sunderland; Thanksgiving 2024 and 2025
Letters without limits: Jesse Tetterton
11/25/25 at 03:10 AMLetters without limits: Jesse Tetterton The Johns Hopkins News-Letter; by Omkar Katkade; 11/22/25 Letters Without Limits, founded by students at Johns Hopkins and Brown University, connects volunteers with palliative care and hospice patients to co-create “Legacy Letters.” These letters capture memories, values and lessons that patients wish to share, preserving stories that might otherwise be lost. By honoring these voices and preserving legacies, Letters Without Limits hopes to affirm the central role of humanism in medicine, reminding us that every patient is more than their illness and that their voices deserve to be heard.
Shifting to online and telephone bereavement support provision during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed methods study of bereavement service provider perspectives and lessons learnt for current practice
11/25/25 at 03:00 AMShifting to online and telephone bereavement support provision during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed methods study of bereavement service provider perspectives and lessons learnt for current practice Palliative Medicine; by Lucy E Selman, Jenny Birchall, Eileen J Sutton, Tracey Stone, Renata Medeiros Mirra, Emma Gilbert, Mirella Longo, Kathy Seddon, Anne M Finucane, Alison Penny, Anthony Byrne, Emily Harrop; 11/24/25, online ahead of print Background: Provision of remote (online/telephone) bereavement support accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the extent and impact of this change and lessons learnt are unknown. ...Conclusions: Remote delivery of bereavement support increased support capacity and can potentially reduce inequities in access. However, it needs to be carefully tailored, and is not appropriate for everyone. Staff and volunteers providing remote services require training and support.
Shepherd’s Cove Hospice: Children’s Activity Garden
11/25/25 at 01:00 AMShepherd’s Cove Hospice: Children’s Activity Garden Sand Mountain Reporter, Albertville, AL; by Mary Bailey; 11/22/25 Shepherd’s Cove Hospice in Albertville lives by the words of community, compassion and connection. On Tuesday morning they opened the doors of the community room for a free breakfast and then held a ribbon cutting for their new “Children’s Activity Garden” located at their facility. With one in nine children in Alabama experiencing a loss of a parent or sibling by age 18, Shepherd’s Cove Hospice saw a need and wanted to help. The Children’s Activity Garden is space where children and teenagers can come to deal with their emotions but also have the freedom and space to still be a child and play.
Coordinating at-home care, enhancing quality of life as a hospice nurse case manager
11/24/25 at 03:00 AMCoordinating at-home care, enhancing quality of life as a hospice nurse case manager Grand Haven Tribune; by Emmanuel Hospice; 11/19/25 Throughout her career, Brittany Rickert has explored nursing jobs in various settings but keeps getting drawn back to hospice. For her, there's little out there that offers such a unique and rewarding experience. "There are landmarks throughout our lives and death is one of them," says Rickert, a nurse of 15 years. "It is very special to be allowed into that sacred space with patients and their loved ones, to support them through such a pivotal portion of their life." ... She defines her position as the "coordinator of the patient experience altogether," working alongside an interdisciplinary team to bring supportive services directly to patients, wherever they call home.
What Express Scripts’s move to eliminate rebates means for the industry
11/21/25 at 03:00 AMWhat Express Scripts’s move to eliminate rebates means for the industryHealthcare Brew; by Maia Anderson; 11/18/25In an unparalleled move, Express Scripts announced plans to get rid of a key part of US drug pricing: rebates. The pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), which is owned by health insurance giant Cigna, announced in late October that its Cigna Healthcare plans will adopt a “rebate-free” model for fully insured members beginning in 2027, and the model will become the standard for all its Evernorth pharmacy benefit clients in 2028.Publisher's note: This appears to be a step in the right direction regarding medication pricing reform. It will be interesting to monitor the details and timeline.
Phoebe Sumter helps hospice patient say final goodbyes to "Moonshine" and "Cowboy," her beloved animals
11/21/25 at 03:00 AMPhoebe Sumter helps hospice patient say final goodbyes to "Moonshine" and "Cowboy," her beloved animals Phoebe Putney Health System, Americus, GA; Press Release; 11/14/25 ... Kate’s only wish was to see her horse, Moonshine. ... Kate’s close friend Sunday Laramore said, “She was an amazing horse trainer. She had been doing that since very early adulthood. She got Moonshine when he was 18 months-old; ... they had an amazing bond.” Kate’s condition was too unstable for her to return home to visit Moonshine, so the Phoebe Sumter care team began formulating a plan to bring Moonshine – and Kate’s dog, Cowboy – to the hospital to see her. Less than an hour after the team learned of Kate’s desire to see her animals, the pets were loaded up and on the way to the hospital.
“I was horrified”: 34 surgeons and doctors recall their worst mistakes
11/21/25 at 02:00 AM“I was horrified”: 34 surgeons and doctors recall their worst mistakes BoredPanda; by Justin Sandberg; 11/19/25 Someone asked “Medical professionals, what mistake have you made in your medical career that, because of the outcome, you've never forgotten?” and people shared their stories from fortunately comical to downright grim. ...#4. I work in palliative care, ... I knew he wanted to be a DNR (do not resuscitate). I wrote it on my note. But I didn't re-fill out the hospital paperwork. The next day, I got to work to discover he'd been coded and was on a ventilator in the ICU. Instead of passing peacefully, his wife had to make the decision to turn off life support. ...Editor's Note: Entry #20 comes from a hospice nurse describing a patient with severe bone pain started on morphine—then an out-of-town daughter arrived, shocked to see “Daddy on morphine.” What unfolded was realistic and tragic. This story highlights two timely essentials:
Grateful patient finds strength and support through UConn Health’s ALS Program
11/20/25 at 03:00 AMGrateful patient finds strength and support through UConn Health’s ALS Program UConn Today; by Jennifer Walker; 11/17/25 ... ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord responsible for muscle movement. ... Originally conceptualized by Dr. Amanda Hernandez, division chief of Neuromuscular Medicine, the UConn Health ALS and MD Program provides a “one-stop shop” for patients with progressive neuromuscular diseases that often require coordination across multiple specialties. ... “Our social worker meets every patient,” said Viguera Altolaguirre. “We address caregiver stress, financial barriers, and emotional coping. Palliative care helps patients navigate difficult decisions about feeding tubes, ventilation, and future planning—always at their own pace and comfort level.”
End-of-life palliative care: Role of the family physician
11/20/25 at 03:00 AMEnd-of-life palliative care: Role of the family physician American Family Physician (AFP); by Tamara L. McGregor, MD, MA, Jared Morphew, MD, and Heather Ann Dalton, MD; 11/25 issue To care for patients at the end of life, family physicians should be able to evaluate the causes of symptoms, differentiate between distressing symptoms and common end-of-life changes, and balance treatment effectiveness with potential adverse effects, while ensuring alignment with the patient's values and wishes. Editor's Note: What networking, relationship-building, and education do you nurture with family physicians in your service areas?
Preventing falls and hospitalizations: Bayada launches the first AI-enhanced home care model
11/20/25 at 02:00 AMPreventing falls and hospitalizations: Bayada launches the first AI-enhanced home care model Cision / PR Newswire, Philadelphia, PA; Press Release; 11/13/25 Bayada Home Health Care ... unveiled its Enhanced Quality of Care Model (EQoC), the only approach of its kind to improve safety and health outcomes for aging adults wherever they call home. ... BAYADA's EQoC innovation combines daily nurse oversight with predictive technology to catch risk factors before they escalate and provide timely, appropriate preventative care that helps seniors stay safe and well at home with fewer adverse events.Editor's Notes: Pair this with the article we recently posted, "Why are more older people dying after falls?"
AI-assisted decision-making for end-stage organ failure: Opportunities and ethical concerns
11/19/25 at 03:00 AMAI-assisted decision-making for end-stage organ failure: Opportunities and ethical concerns Artificial Organs; by John W Haller, Olga D Brazhnik, Kathleen N Fenton; 11/17/25 ... This paper discusses current applications of AI in healthcare, emphasizing the complex decision-making necessary for patients with organ failure. It outlines how AI can support risk stratification, patient selection, and outcome prediction, particularly in transplantation practices that increasingly rely on robust data to inform care pathways. ... There is a need for standardized, high-quality data, rigorous validation, and transparent algorithms to mitigate biases that could exacerbate disparities in care. Ethical considerations demand attention to equitable access, patient privacy, and the preservation of the human element in patient-clinician relationships.
Sage advice on aging and dying from a Colorado geriatrician
11/18/25 at 03:00 AMSage advice on aging and dying from a Colorado geriatrician CPR News; by Andrea Dukakis; 11/17/25 Geriatricians – doctors trained to treat older adults – are a scarce commodity across the country and in Colorado. The state has about a million residents aged 65 and older and, according to the most recent data available, only 110 geriatricians. ... Here are five things we learned about aging from Dr. Erika Altneu, a geriatrician in Salida:
When health care teams run short, physician burnout rises
11/17/25 at 03:00 AMWhen health care teams run short, physician burnout rises American Medical Association (AMA); by Sara Berg, MS; 11/4/25 ... Drawing on data from the AMA Organizational Biopsy®, the study reveals that inadequate team staffing was also linked to physicians’ intentions to cut clinical hours or leave their organizations. The findings underscore how sustained workforce shortages and daily understaffing continue to affect morale and retention in medicine long after the acute phase of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Participants included 970 physicians from 15 organizations.
Transfusion access central to hospice decision-making among patients with blood cancers
11/14/25 at 03:00 AMTransfusion access central to hospice decision-making among patients with blood cancers The ASCO Post; by Julia Cipriano, MS, CMPP; 11/13/25Based on the results of a multicenter cross-sectional survey study published in JAMA Network Open by Raman et al, patients with blood cancer who were potentially hospice-eligible placed the greatest importance on transfusion access compared with routine hospice services. “The high value placed on transfusion access suggests that this factor is central to hospice decision-making and highlights the need for novel hospice delivery models that incorporate palliative transfusion access for patients with advanced blood cancers,” the investigators commented. Editor's Note: Revisit our previous post, "Access to hospice and certain services under the hospice benefit for beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease or cancer."
A doctor’s mystery cancer gives her a new medical education
11/14/25 at 03:00 AMA doctor’s mystery cancer gives her a new medical educationMedscape; by Kelly Curtin-Hallinan; 11/7/25At some point, every doctor becomes a patient. For many physicians, experiencing serious illness and treatment is humbling, eye-opening, and, in the end, transformative. Dr. Patient is a Medscape series telling these stories... I don’t look like a cancer patient. I didn’t have chemotherapy. I didn’t lose my hair. It’s not obvious to anyone, if they don’t see my enormous abdominal scar, that something crazy has happened to me. To this day, my prognosis is unknown...Publisher's note: Consider how being a hospice patient or family member changes the quality of hospice care you provide...
10 common sibling clashes while caring for parents—and how to resolve them
11/13/25 at 03:00 AM10 common sibling clashes while caring for parents—and how to resolve them AOL.com; 11/10/25 Sibling conflicts over the care of elderly parents are quite common, along with disputes over estates and inheritance. ...
Achieving goal-concordant care with goals of care consultations in the Emergency Department
11/13/25 at 03:00 AMAchieving goal-concordant care with goals of care consultations in the Emergency Department American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; by Stacy Nilsen, PhD, RN, Diane Wintz, MD, Kelly Wright, MSN, MBA, RN, Debra Poeltler, PhD, MPH, RN, Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns, San Diego, CA; 10/24/25 Introduction: Time constraints may be prohibitive to adequate goals of care (GOC) discussions and could delay critical decision making in urgent or emergent situations. ... Method: A retrospective record review was conducted for patients 65 and older at a single community hospital between January and December 2023. Included patients had at least one GOC documented discussion with a nursing team called Advanced Illness Management (AIM) and were admitted or placed in observation. ... 3377 patients met the inclusion criteria. ... Conclusions: There were positive findings in LOS, ICU, and cost with AIM consultation within 24 hours of presenting to the ED, when compared to waiting for a later consultation, supporting consideration of forward-placement of GOC discussion.
31 shocking confessions people made to their doctors and nurses on their deathbed
11/13/25 at 03:00 AM31 shocking confessions people made to their doctors and nurses on their deathbed BussFeed; by Hannah Marder; 11/12/25 Being on your deathbed puts everything into perspective, and sometimes, the dying have something big to get off their chests. No one knows this better than those who work with the dying, who bear witness to these disturbing confessions. ...Editor's Note: This BuzzFeed feature compiles unverified, anonymous accounts of “deathbed confessions” shared by clinicians online. While written for popular appeal, it touches a truth familiar to hospice and palliative professionals: dying patients often reveal deeply held truths when facing the end. We share it as a reminder that such moments call for clinical steadiness, ethical awareness, and the presence of board-certified chaplains—those uniquely trained to meet these revelations with compassion and care.
NCPA and USC launch first publicly available tool to identify pharmacy shortage areas across America
11/12/25 at 03:00 AMNCPA and USC launch first publicly available tool to identify pharmacy shortage areas across America National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), Alexandria, VA; Press Release; 11/4/25 The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), in collaboration with the University of Southern California (USC), unveiled an interactive, user-friendly pharmacy shortage area mapping tool available to the general public for the first time. Previously accessible only to select individuals and organizations, the public [can now] identify pharmacy shortage areas and understand access challenges in their local communities. ... The mapping tool reveals that approximately one in eight U.S. neighborhoods — representing millions of Americans — persistently lack convenient access to pharmacy services. In rural areas and underserved urban communities, the problem is far more severe, with some states and counties experiencing shortage rates approaching 50 percent.
Pidgie Chapman marks nearly four decades as a hospice volunteer
11/12/25 at 03:00 AMPidgie Chapman marks nearly four decades as a hospice volunteer The Pilot; by Maggie Boncurrter; 11/7/25 The ladies weren’t exactly Thelma and Louise of big screen fame, but they probably looked very similar driving through the Moore County community of Addor. FirstHealth Hospice volunteer Pidgie Chapman had a patient decades ago who loved to dress up and wear fancy hats. Chapman had quite the chapeau collection, so she presented her patient with a giant, floppy hat while donning a similar one. “In those days we could drive our patients around,” said Chapman, who has been a hospice volunteer since 1986. “We got in the car and visited all her friends – in our hats. She was absolutely delighted.” ... Chapman is one of the area’s most seasoned hospice volunteers, starting her career soon after the philosophy of care took hold in Moore County.
The sliver of light after losing a child: Personal perspective - a child's loss can provide elusive and rare gifts.
11/12/25 at 03:00 AMThe sliver of light after losing a child: Personal perspective - a child's loss can provide elusive and rare gifts. Psychology Today; by David R Patterson PhD, ABPP; by 11/10/25 I have often said that working with patients who are dying has brought an ironic, but transient, feeling of exhilaration to my life. Most care providers who work in hospice will explain to us that people who are aware of their impending mortality have a sense of being in the present that those of us who are not so close to that inevitability can only admire from a distance. ... I don’t know whether this resonates with other parents that have lost a child, but I can say that a very clear impact of my son’s loss has been to become acutely aware of my own mortality. ... After living with my son’s death for three years, I am only just beginning to grasp the lessons that his death is teaching me.
* "The Wounded Generation": Bearing the invisible scars of war
11/11/25 at 03:00 AM"The Wounded Generation": Bearing the invisible scars of war CBS News; by Lesley Stahl; 11/9/25 In 1984, President Reagan commemorated the 40th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy, and paid tribute to the World War II soldiers known as "The Greatest Generation." ... But in his new book, historian David Nasaw calls them "The Wounded Generation." "They are the Greatest Generation, but they returned from war, bringing wounds home with them that are invisible; they're psychic wounds," he said. "Now we know that a lot of those wounds were PTSD. But PTSD was not diagnosed for 40 years after the return of the World War II veterans. ... Nasaw said [of his own father,] "He came home smoking three or four packs of Luckys a day. He came home with a heart condition from the war. He dies at age 61. And I had never had the chance to find out what happened in Eritrea, what he went through. So, what do I do as a historian? I can't find out his story, so I jumped in to find out the story of his generation."Editor's Note: While most World War II veterans are now gone, many of today’s hospice patients—particularly those who served in combat—carry similar invisible scars. Their psychic wounds, once unnamed, often resurface in life’s final chapter. This story also echoes in their adult children, who now seek to understand the unspoken pain that shaped their families. For more insight and support—especially regarding post-9/11 veterans—see the Wounded Warriors Project.
Early lessons learned implementing the dementia-focused GUIDE model
11/10/25 at 03:00 AMEarly lessons learned implementing the dementia-focused GUIDE modelHealthcare Innovation; by David Raths; 11/5/25At NAACOS meeting, Bluestone ACO’s Nate Hunkins, M.P.H., described how GUIDE care navigators are complementing its advanced primary care model. Key highlights:
Bereavement support for oncology nurses caring for patients and families
11/07/25 at 03:00 AMBereavement support for oncology nurses caring for patients and families Journal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing; Tami Borneman, RN, MSN, CNS, FPCN, Paige Hayward, and Haley Buller, MSHSC; 10/28/25 Six themes emerged from the open-ended question that asked participants to share case studies describing a patient or family member that they had cared for who was experiencing grief and nurse interventions: (1) treatment failure/out of options, (2) unexpected death or recent loss, (3) impending death, (4) multiple or overlapping losses, (5) coping, and (6) anticipatory grief.