Literature Review

Rural palliative care: Karl Bezak, Jeanie Youngwerth, Adie Goldberg, and Gregg VandekieftGeriPAL podcast; by Eric Widera, Alex Smith, Karl Bezak, Jeanie Youngwerth, Adie Goldberg, Gregg Vandekieft; 4/9/26Rural populations in the United States face unique healthcare challenges. These communities tend to be older, have higher mortality rates, and experience higher rates of chronic conditions and physical disabilities compared to urban populations. Despite the increased need for palliative care in rural areas, access remains alarmingly limited. Even in hospital settings, where palliative care programs are more common in urban areas, only 35% of rural hospitals report having such programs, compared to 81% of urban hospitals.

Assessment of survival and the decision to engage in palliative care when facing a defeat in the ICUMedical Decision Making; by Hossam Gad, Daniel Diedrich, and Krzysztof Laudanski; 4/24/26 Highlights

Celebrating National Volunteer Month: ways hospice organizations showed appreciation (April 2026) Hospice & Palliative Care Today; compilation by Joy Berger; 5/1/26 

Alliance sounds alarm over federal payment suspensions tactic to fight hospice fraud McKnights Home Care; by Liza Berger; 5/1/26 As the federal government continues to crack down on rampant hospice fraud in California and other states, advocates for the field fear that the government’s latest enforcement effort is unintentionally trapping ethical providers. ... While the government is basing a payment suspension on “a credible allegation of fraud,” the National Alliance for Care at Home worries that the government is using just one metric to justify its “credible allegation.” ... In a post this week, law firm Foley & Lardner LLP CMS defined a “’credible allegation of fraud’ as an allegation of fraud from any source, including but not limited to the following: (1) fraud hotline tips ... verified by further evidence; (2) claims data mining; and (3) patterns identified through provider audits, FCA cases and investigations.”

Hand-stitched memory bears help grieving maker and recipients ArcaMax, Pittsburgh, PA; by Gretchen McKay; 5/1/26 Shirley Whitlinger knows all too well the profound, existential loneliness that follows a spouse’s death. When David, her husband of 50 years, died from prostate cancer in 2021, after two years of chemotherapy and trials at Hillman Cancer Center, it was almost impossible not to lose herself in grief. Whitlinger finally learned to move forward last year, she says, with the help of a support group and, more recently, a beloved hobby that started in childhood: sewing. Three months ago, she started making keepsake “memory” bears from a piece of clothing in honor of a lost loved one.

Virtual reality for serious illness: connecting, healing, and inducing awe | part one Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN); podcast hosted by Chris Comeaux with Kathleen Benton and Teri Yarbrow; 4/29/26 What if, even in the most limiting and uncertain moments of serious illness, a person could still experience freedom, movement, beauty, and a renewed sense of meaning? In this episode, Kathleen Benton and Virtual Reality (VR innovator Teri Yarbrow reveal how virtual reality is reshaping Hospice and Palliative Care by restoring something often lost in modern medicine—human experience.  As care becomes increasingly clinical and documentation-driven, VR creates space for patients to reconnect with meaning, beauty, and identity beyond their diagnosis.

Discontinuation of medications with limited benefit at end of life in community-dwelling older veteransJournal of the American Geriatrics Society; by Joshua M Thorpe, Kelvin A Tran, Sherrie L Aspinall, Shelli L Feder, Brystana G Kaufman, Ann Kutney-Lee, Maria K Mor, Loren J Schleiden, Florentina E Sileanu, Carolyn T Thorpe, Courtney H Van Houtven; 4/26Discontinuation of medications with limited benefits (LBM) in patients nearing the end of life can reduce burden, adverse events, and costs, and enhance quality of life. However, most research on end-of-life prescribing has focused on nursing homes or hospice settings. [This study setting was] community-residing, non-hospice older veterans. Among community-dwelling older veterans in their final year of life, 73% were receiving at least one LBM at the start of that year, and 78% of these individuals continued LBM use until death. These rates parallel those reported in long-term care populations and underscore the need for community-based healthcare providers to routinely screen for LBMs and support appropriate medication discontinuation in older patients with advanced illnesses and limited life expectancy.

NPHI statement on “Protecting Patients and Taxpayers: Cracking Down on Medicare Fraud” hearingNational Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation, Washington, DC; Press Release; 4/22/26 The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) supports the continued focus by Congress and the Administration on addressing fraud, waste, and abuse within the Medicare hospice benefit. NPHI’s policy team, led by Ethan McChesney and joined by Quin Lyons, attended the House Ways & Means Full Committee hearing titled “Protecting Patients and Taxpayers: Cracking Down on Medicare Fraud,” on April 21, reinforcing NPHI’s active engagement on this issue. ... “Fraud in hospice is not a theoretical concern – it is happening in real time, and patients and families are paying the price,” said Tom Koutsoumpas, Founder and CEO of NPHI. “We are seeing entire markets impacted by actors who have no connection to the communities they claim to serve. These fraudulent actors must be rooted out of the system — at once."

[Canada] Palliative Care Coalition of Canada (PCCC) Blueprint for Action 2025-2030 Palliative Care Coalition of Canada (PCCC); 4/24/26 The Palliative Care Coalition of Canada (PCCC) released the Blueprint for Action 2025–2030, a national roadmap that identifies key priorities needed to ensure that more people in Canada have access to high-quality, culturally safer, and affordable palliative care. 

Not just California: A national hospice ‘Blue Book’ is needed to fight fraudThe Hill; by Robin Heffernan; 4/22/26Congress has finally decided to wade into the deep waters of hospice fraud in California. That is a good thing. But what members need to know is that this problem is not new, and it is not confined to one state. What’s more, enforcement alone will not solve it — what is desperately needed is more prevention... What is missing is a so-called “Blue Book” for the hospice industry — an ongoing, up-to-date reference of providers and their quality performance, to distinguish high-quality providers from those that should not be in the program. The data for this already exists. Claims patterns, visit reliability, length of stay, revocation rates and patient experience can make outliers visible early. Unfortunately, that information is not consistently surfaced or used at the point where decisions are made.Publisher's note: I wholeheartedly agree with Robin’s insightful article and strongly encourage everyone to explore the National Hospice Locator. This valuable resource represents a meaningful step forward in improving access to compassionate end-of-life care. Also, Robin has participated in several Teleios Collaborative Network TCNtalks podcasts. [Robin Heffernan is co-founder and chief executive of Empassion Health.]

1520ai and Hospice Analytics announce strategic combination to advance data-driven hospice care and AI innovation1520ai & Hospice Analytics press release; by Mark Cohen, Ernesto Lopez, Cordt Kassner; 4/28/261520ai and Hospice Analytics today announced that Hospice Analytics will become part of 1520ai and the broader simPAL Solutions family, bringing together Hospice Analytics’ hospice data expertise with 1520ai’s vision for a new generation of hospice-native AI capabilities designed to help providers turn data into better decisions and improved care. Hospice Analytics will maintain its core branding, products, and services while operating as part of 1520ai. Founder and longtime leader Cordt Kassner will continue to lead operations and guide the organization’s ongoing work with hospice providers across the country. “This builds on Hospice Analytics’ long-established foundation of innovation, expertise, and reliability,” said Ernesto Lopez, CEO of 1520ai. “Cordt and his team have earned deep trust in the hospice community by turning complex data into meaningful, actionable insights. Together, we have an opportunity to integrate AI into that work and create tools that help hospice leaders make better decisions, improve operations, and support better care for patients and families.”

No debt, ideal weight, 8 hours of sleep, mental health on track, right nutrition, zero alcohol. This was my peak. I was 8. ~Unknown