Literature Review

Is hospice over-sedating my mom? AgingCare; by Ginger May; 3/11/26 This might be a common question. Mom was signed on to hospice nine days ago. ... Prior to hospice, she was alert and going down to meals each day and participating in conversations. ... Hospice recommended a small dose of morphine to reduce the cough and as they explained "to relax the airway." [Descriptions of her mother's decline. ...] Yesterday, I talked to the hospice nurse and told her I thought it was too much. The nurse disagreed and said mom needed it to prevent "air hunger" and is more comfortable with it than without it. I felt like if I disagreed too much, I was depriving my mother of "comfort." ...Editor's Note: Yes—this is a common question. Families often wonder whether medications intended for comfort are instead taking their loved one away too quickly. Leaders, listen carefully to this daughter’s experience with the hospice nurse. When families question a medication or express fear, what actually happens next? Are their concerns welcomed? Or, dismissed and perhaps even debated? Communication at the bedside does more than explain care. It shapes whether families carry trust—or regret—into bereavement.

Physicians are not providers: The ethical significance of names in health care: A policy paper from the American College of PhysiciansAnnals of Internal Medicine; by Lois Snyder Sulmasy, Jan K. Carney, for the ACP Ethics, Professionalism and Human Rights CommitteeMore than 25 years ago, Pellegrino and Relman noted the increasing commercialization of the learned professions, anticipating what many physicians are increasingly experiencing today: an impairment of their ability to practice in accordance with standards of medical ethics and professionalism. These hurdles to the physician’s ability to do right by the patient contribute to what leaders in medicine and the American College of Physicians have called deprofessionalization. An example is the use of the term provider to describe physicians and other health professionals. The use of this terminology has been reviewed in medical journal articles but has not been adequately explored as a matter of ethics and professionalism. Through that lens, this paper examines the trends, significance, and implications for patients, physicians, and health care of the use of the term provider.

Sovereign Hospice guides Dallas-Fort Worth families through hospital discharge The Malone Telegram, Aubrey, TX; by Baaba Sampson; 3/12/26 Families facing hospital discharge for a loved one with a terminal illness often feel overwhelmed by the sudden shift in care responsibilities. Sovereign Hospice addresses this challenge by providing seamless coordination between hospital teams and home-based hospice services. The organization serves all counties within the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, offering same-day admission and round-the-clock support.

"Black box" artificial intelligence for mortality prediction: a mixed- methods study of palliative care team, patient, and caregiver perspectives Annals of Palliative Medicine; by Beatrice Bridge, Ahmed Y Alasmar, Lauren Gunn-Sandell, Regina M Fink, Stacy M Fischer, Elizabeth Juarez-Colunga, Eric G Campbell, Matthew DeCamp; 2/26/26 Background: New artificial intelligence (AI)-based mortality prediction algorithms could support both patients' prognostic awareness and person-centered palliative care. ... Results: Among 53 interviewees, 18 expressed only concern about black box AI-based prognostication, 17 expressed only unconcern, and 18 interviewees expressed mixed sentiments. Reasons for concern related to: data transparency, mistrust of machines or their creators, patient-clinician communication, bias, and accuracy. Reasons for unconcern related to: inexplicability not unique to AI, greater accuracy, not using AI in isolation, trust in science, and being evidence-based. Notably, "accuracy" and "trust" appeared in both.

Hospice nurse weekend visit rates, by state Becker's Hospital Review; by Elizabeth Gregerson; 3/11/26 ... CMS collects skilled nursing visit data, submitted directly by hospice providers, from Medicare hospice claims, and from the Hospice Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey, through the Hospice Quality Reporting Program. The national percentage of hospice nurse visits provided during the weekend was 9.6%. Here are the percentage of weekend skilled nursing minutes provided between Jan. 1, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2024, by state, according to CMS: ...

Penn Medicine Collaborative providing holistic care to cancer patients healthleaders; by Christopher Cheney; 3/10/26 Key Takeaways:

How America’s nursing shortage impacts health care Deseret News; by Lois M. Collins; 3/8/26 America has a nursing shortage, but where it is and who’s affected is not evenly distributed across the country. And even communities with an adequate or near-adequate supply must be vigilant to ensure that shortages don’t creep in. Key Points:

Chronic pain and unrecognized grief: epistemic barriers to personal and social recognition Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy; by Christopher Jude McCarroll, Ying-Tung Lin, Dominik Koesling, and Claudia Bozzaro; 3/29/26 What is it to grieve? What is the nature of grief? ... Importantly, a close examination of the phenomenology of chronic pain helps illuminate the ways in which it also involves the kind of losses that we can grieve over. The losses involved in experiences of chronic pain impact one’s practical identity in ways that can lead to grief. This chronic pain grief remains largely unrecognized, however. We outline four epistemic barriers to recognizing the grief involved in experiences of chronic pain. ...

Oncologist perspectives on timely hospice referral: A qualitative study American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care; by Andrew Lynch, Andrea Altschuler, Joseph P Cosgrove, Hannah Whitehead, Corey Schwartz, Raymond Liu, Mina Chang; 3/7/26 Background: Late hospice referral rates are on the rise and are associated with negative outcomes at the end of life (EoL). Rates of late hospice referral vary drastically from oncologist to oncologist, and behavioral and psychological factors among individual oncologists have been identified as potential contributors to this variability. ...  Conclusions: Numerous factors independent of hospice eligibility were reported to influence hospice referral practices among oncologists. While some factors represent challenging cultural and social barriers to timely hospice referral, other system- and patient-specific barriers offer opportunities for potential interventions. 

Love hurts: Leadership, quality, and the future of hospice & palliative care | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN Talks); podcast by Chris Comeaux with Dr. Alex Smith and Dr. Eric Widera; 3/4/26 TCNtalks / Anatomy of Leadership host Chris Comeaux and co-host Cordt Kassner join forces with Dr. Eric Widera and Dr. Alex Smith of the GeriPal Podcast, leaders in Palliative Care and Hospice innovation discuss emerging quality measures, data-driven hospice analytics, research challenges, and the leadership needed to guide healthcare organizations through change. For professionals working in healthcare leadership and serious illness care, the conversation offers valuable insight into the policies, research, and innovations shaping the future of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

Cambia Health Foundation releases comprehensive evaluation of Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program Business Wire, Portland, OR; Press Release; 3/3/26 Cambia Health Foundation today released the results of a comprehensive evaluation of its Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program, demonstrating the significant impact of a 10-year, $25 million investment in developing the next generation of palliative care leaders.  ... The program’s goals were measured against more than 175 sources, as well as 18 individual interviews, 5 focus groups and a comprehensive written survey completed by 117 individuals, including program participants and industry experts. Notable findings include:

A nurse-led violence prevention program that cut incidents to zero Becker's Clinical Leadership; by Mariah Taylor; 3/2/26 WakeMed Raleigh (N.C.) has gone 20 consecutive months — and counting — without a single workplace violence incident on its medical-surgical unit. It is all thanks to a program created by three nurse leaders. The program started with a partnership between med-surg and psychiatric nurses. ...

Outpatient curricular content for hospice and palliative medicine trainees: A national survey Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Harry J Han, Angelika Golebiowska, Emily N Hansen, Michelle Park, Victoria I Sweetnam, Christian T Sinclair, Jonathan C Yeh, Mary K Buss; 3/2/26, online ahead of print Context: More health systems are establishing outpatient palliative care (PC) programs, increasing demand for ambulatory PC clinicians. ... Little is known about the outpatient-specific knowledge and skills PC trainees should acquire for competent outpatient practice. Conclusion: This national survey identified foundational outpatient-focused educational topics for hospice and pallitive medical (HPM) learners and suggests that outpatient curricula prioritize deliberate education on the unique application of core PC skills in outpatient settings. This prioritized list provides education leaders a roadmap to enhance existing curricula and informs the development of outpatient educational resources that can be shared across institutions.