Literature Review

"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.

Why Baylor Scott & White opted for an access redesign Becker's Hospital Review; by Kelly Gooch; 3/2/26 Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest nonprofit health system in Texas, has been undergoing a consumer-focused transformation aimed at expanding access. ... “One thing we heard consistently through all of that is just a need for more access,” Rob Watson, MD, chief clinical operations officer, told Becker’s. “Not just traditional access through what we would consider our large hospitals and clinics, but expanded options like digital and virtual as well as when they had an urgent need or an emergent need, more physical locations as well.”

Let's talk about robotics in nursingHealth Leaders; by G Hatfield; 3/2/26... CNOs who want to incorporate robotics into nursing workflows must focus on adapting care models and staffing to maintain quality and continuity. According to Wills, staffing models may shift towards stronger roles in pre-admission testing, nurse navigation, virtual check-ins, and ambulatory recovery support. "I think CNOs need to think beyond the walls of the hospital, and this means redesigning care models that emphasize preoperative education, care coordination, and postoperative discharge follow-ups," Wills said.Editor's Note: Is this a wave of the future? Typically, hospice organization's join healthcare's technology later rather than sooner. Values of "humanity," "empathy," and "compassion" take precedence. This article is posted for your awareness. What are potential settings? Uses? Pro's and con's? Implications for care with persons experiencing dementia? More questions abound.

The trends—and traps—shaping 2026 JD Supra; by Morgan Lewis; 2/24/26 The global business landscape in 2026 is marked by accelerating political realignments, intensifying regulatory oversight, rapid technological maturation, and shifting market expectations. In this year’s report, our lawyers assess the trends and emerging risk areas that organizations across industries and regions are likely to encounter in 2026 and beyond. Drawing on insights from a dynamic array of developments—from the business repercussions of geopolitical recalibration to the continued expansion of transformative technologies—this compilation delivers a forward-looking perspective designed to support informed strategy and purposeful decision-making for businesses worldwide.

Weaving a unified fabric of care will heal the patient-provider relationship MedCity News; by Sachin K. Gupta; 2/20/26 Healthcare can transform only when strategy, workflow, data, and human connection operate together with a single purpose: strengthen the relationship at the center of care. The healthcare industry is under strain. ... At the core of these problems is the strained patient-clinician relationship. Healthcare is losing the very relationship it was built on. This is one of the prime problems that we need to solve to build a stronger healthcare industry, and AI is the instrument. ... Healthcare can transform only when strategy, workflow, data, and human connection operate together with a single purpose: strengthen the relationship at the center of care.

Factoring in the human side of robotics The Journal of Healthcare Contracting; by R. Dana Barlow... If incorporating robots in supply chain becomes the norm, and many believe it will be the case, then supply chain executives, leaders, managers and professionals must come to grips with any reservations they might have. How to accomplish that depends on the individual and the corporate culture in which he or she serves and works. ... “We’re in healthcare. Continuous improvement and innovation are a big part of the Memorial Hermann culture,” he told The Journal of Healthcare Contracting. “We have our caregivers, physicians, nurses. They’re always looking for new, innovative ways to deliver great patient care. ..."Editor's Notes: Are supply chain executives admonished to "come to grips with any reservations they might have," or should they--do they--listen, learn from, and incorporate valid reservations into their development and use of robotics? I do not assume to have answers--for the sake of delivering "great patient care"--I simply ask the glaring question.

Can AI hear when patients are ready for palliative care? Researchers use AI to analyze patient phone calls for vocal cues predicting palliative care acceptance Penn LDI - Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics; by Hoag Levins; 2/24/26 A new study suggests artificial intelligence (AI) may help clinicians identify which seriously ill patients are ready for palliative care — by analyzing the energy, pitch, and other subtle vocal cues in recorded group phone conversations among patients, caregivers, and health care providers. The new work by a team led by LDI Senior Fellow and Penn Nursing School Assistant Professor Jiyoun Song, PhD, APRN, is the first to use speech processing to identify palliative care preferences during discussions and decision-making in managed long-term care (MLTC), a type of Medicaid-managed care for community-dwelling patients that need home and community-based services.

Reimagining Hospice with Agentic and Generative AI1520ai press release; by Ernesto Lopez; 1/8/26...Agentic AI moves beyond task automation. It introduces systems that can reason over time, track evolving conditions, and coordinate actions across clinical, operational, and compliance domains. In a hospice setting, this means AI can move from being a documentation assistant to functioning as a continuous support layer. An agentic system can review clinical documentation as it is created, recognize patterns that suggest risk or change in trajectory, and surface insights proactively. It can coordinate care activities, prompt timely follow-up, and support consistency across interdisciplinary teams.Publisher's Note: An interesting article introducing AI terminology from a hospice perspective.

Natural language processing to assess palliative care processes and health care utilization in seriously ill older adults with severe traumaJournal of Palliative Medicine; by Daniel I Hoffman, Sydney Moore, Mengyuan Ruan, Masami Tabata-Kelly, Kate Sciacca, Tamryn F Gray, Stuart R Lipsitz, Christine S Ritchie, Charlotta Lindvall, Zara Cooper; 12/25National guidelines recommend palliative care (PC) alongside life-sustaining treatment for older adults with severe trauma. However, outcomes associated with PC for these patients are not well-defined... Natural language processing was used to measure documentation of five inpatient PC processes: code status limitations, goals-of-care (GOC) conversations, hospice discussions, PC consultations, and health care proxy designations... PC was not associated with reduced health care utilization in older adults after trauma but was associated with one-year hospice enrollment. GOC conversations, specialty PC, and inpatient hospice discussions had low utilization, highlighting target areas for improvements in care delivery.

How to build an AI-augmented workforce: The CIO's guide TechTarget; by Kinza Yasar; 1/5/26 As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes industries, forward-thinking CIOs are shifting their strategies from automation-first to augmentation-first. Their goal is to equip employees with AI tools that strengthen their judgment, spark creativity and boost productivity. In an AI-augmented workforce, humans and AI systems work collaboratively, not competitively. Rather than replacing employees, AI is used to enhance human capabilities, automate routine tasks and provide insights that help people make more informed decisions and focus on higher-value work. 

The overlooked driver of digital transformation MIT Technology Review; by Genevieve Julliard and Chris Schyvinck; 1/5/26 When business leaders talk about digital transformation, their focus often jumps straight to cloud platforms, AI tools, or collaboration software. Yet, one of the most fundamental enablers of how organizations now work, and how employees experience that work, is often overlooked: audio. ... "Audio is the gatekeeper of meaning,” stresses Julliard. “If people can't hear clearly, they can't understand you. And if they can't understand you, they can't trust you, and they can't act on what you said. ..." Without clarity, comprehension and confidence collapse.

How to work clinically and ethically with chatbots and AI Medscape; by Arthur L. Caplan, PhD; 12/30/25 Hi. I’m Art Caplan. I’m at the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City. I’m getting an interesting question from many doctors from different specialties, and also from more primary care people. How do I work clinically and ethically with chatbots and artificial intelligence? They’re not asking about making appointments or handling data behind the scenes. They want to know, in dealing with patients, how do I do this and do this right? ...