Literature Review

Central Texas loses only pediatric hospice-at-home care as Dell Children's program closes Austin American-Statesman, Austin, TX; by Nicole Villalpando; 10/31/26 Four years after it opened, Dell Children's Medical Center is closing its Hospice at Home program Friday. The program was designed to bring care to the home of a dying child, rather than to have the family go to a clinic for that care. In a statement from Dell Children's, the hospital said the program "is transitioning from home-based care to an outpatient clinic setting. That care will be provided through the Comprehensive Care Clinic, which specializes in children with complex diagnoses, many of whom might need hospice or palliative care. ... This move leaves Central Texas without a pediatric hospice provider for in-home care.

Patients with suboptimal discharges – a follow-up (and rescinding hospice billing)RACmonitor; by Ronald Hirsch, MD, FACP, ACPA-C, CHCQM, CHRI; 10//28/26 Let me start with an update on my project to get a way to indicate on a hospital claim that a patient has discharged to a less-than-optimal location. ... [That began] with a push to use the “against medical advice” designation for such patients. But the stigma behind that term led me to adopt the suggestion of Valerie Rinkle, a nationally known revenue integrity expert, who proposed adoption of a condition code instead of using a discharge status code. Last week I once again presented to the National Uniform Billing Committee (NUBC), asking for such a code to be established. During that meeting, one of the members came up with an even better idea: establishing two condition codes, one for when the patient chooses a less-than-optimal location, and a different condition code for when the payer refuses to approve the suggested post-acute care.

The debate: vertical integration, payvider, or world-class care—which path forward? | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux; 10/21/26 What if hospice succeeds at the wrong strategy?  Chris Comeaux explores three paths for the future of hospice and palliative care: vertical integration, the payvider model, and world-class specialty care. In Part One of The Debate: Vertical Integration, Payvider, or World-Class Care—Which Path Forward?, Chris Comeaux confronts a defining question for healthcare leaders: What should our organizations become to best serve patients and families? With competition intensifying, financial pressures mounting, and workforce demands growing, he introduces three possible paths: build an Vertical Integration continuum of care, participate in financing as a Payvider, or make World-Class Hospice and Palliative Care the central strategy.

The debate: vertical integration, payvider, or world-class care—which path forward? | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast by Chris Comeaux; 10/21/26 What if hospice succeeds at the wrong strategy?  Chris Comeaux explores three paths for the future of hospice and palliative care: vertical integration, the payvider model, and world-class specialty care. In Part One of The Debate: Vertical Integration, Payvider, or World-Class Care—Which Path Forward?, Chris Comeaux confronts a defining question for healthcare leaders: What should our organizations become to best serve patients and families? With competition intensifying, financial pressures mounting, and workforce demands growing, he introduces three possible paths: build an Vertical Integration continuum of care, participate in financing as a Payvider, or make World-Class Hospice and Palliative Care the central strategy.

The workforce crisis healthcare leaders can’t afford to ignore | part two Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Ron Hetrick; 10/16/26 The greatest threat to your organization’s future may be having too few people to deliver the care you promise. In Part Two of The Workforce Crisis Healthcare Leaders Can’t Afford to Ignore, Chris Comeaux welcomes back Ron Hetrick to explore how healthcare leaders can prepare for a future shaped by an aging population, growing care needs, and a shrinking pipeline of workers. Hetrick moves from demographic warning signs to practical leadership decisions: redesigning difficult jobs, building training pipelines, creating workplaces people want to stay in, and evaluating expansion through the lens of available talent. He also explores how private home care could intensify competition for caregivers ...  

Hospice waits on a court order when no family can speak for youThe Podcast by KevinMD; 10/8/26A man is dying. He cannot speak, and no one in his life can say what he would have wanted. Kirsten Engel is a palliative medicine physician, and Medha Tripathi is a health writer and incoming Fulbright research scholar. This episode is based on their article “Guardianship and hospice care fail dying patients,” published on KevinMD. They explain what happens when a patient has no family and no health care proxy, and a court appoints a guardian who has never met them. A move to comfort measures then needs a court date that can take weeks, while the hospital works in hours and days.Publisher's note: How often do hospices serve patients with no family and/or health care proxy? What challenges do you face? What solutions are available?

How investing in AI can help home care head off Medicare denials, suspensions McKnights Home Care; by John Roszkowski; 10/9/26As government regulators are increasingly using artificial intelligence to identify irregular billing patterns to detect potential fraud and health insurance companies use AI to justify claims denials, home care providers often find themselves at a major disadvantage. Providers need to proactively invest in the right AI technology to address compliance gaps or risk the possibility of regulatory audits, claims denials, or even worse, possible suspension or revocation from the Medicare program.

The blessing of hospice transportLas Cruces Bulletin [NM]; by Mike Cook; 10/3/26“We are the only hospice we know of who is able to arrange our own transportation,” Mesilla Valley Hospice Chief Operating Officer Mario Prieto said Sept. 24, after MVH’s first ever non-emergency transport vehicle received a blessing and became available for use... Having the vehicle means MVH can transport patients to the hospice from a hospital or a private home, Prieto said, which provides another important service to the families of MVH patients, and it means hospitals won’t have to hold a bed for a patient while waiting for transport or be responsible for the transport.

Hospice tech execs have changing role in age of AI Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 9/30/26 The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) in the hospice space is changing how chief information officers and other technology-focused leaders are approaching their jobs. Hospices nationwide are investing in AI systems to transform virtually every aspect of their businesses. This includes both nonprofit and for-profit providers and organizations of all sizes, though larger, well-capitalized companies and investing more heavily.

Recruiters say health systems must define the mandate before searching for a chief AI officer Complete AI Training; 9/25/26 Only 6 of the top 100 health systems had a dedicated chief AI officer in 2024, though that number is now growing fast as organizations weigh hiring one or folding AI oversight into existing roles. Health systems are formalizing AI leadership as adoption accelerates, with many weighing whether to hire a dedicated chief AI officer or fold the responsibility into existing roles. ... Recruiters say the mandate must be clear before the search begins, because the pool of qualified candidates remains small and the role is still taking shape.

Establishing an AI policy: a comprehensive white paper for life sciences teamsSakara Digital; by Amie Harpe; 9/21/26Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly evolved from a niche technology to a foundational element of business operations across all sectors. ... This white paper provides a comprehensive, narrative-driven guide for business and compliance leaders ...  Special attention is given to the unique regulatory, ethical, and operational considerations in life sciences and healthcare, with tangible guidance for governance, validation, training, monitoring, and audit strategies.

Interoperability’s blind spot: What happens to data after systems retire? HealthData Management; by Shawn Fichter; 9/18/26 As healthcare advances FHIR-based exchange and replaces aging applications, interoperability strategies must account for the historical records left behind—ensuring legacy data remains accessible, secure, governed and usable long after its original system leaves production. ...