Literature Review

Artificial intelligence in geriatric health careHealth Affairs; by Esther S. Oh, Peter M. Abadir, Joseph Grogan, Ravi Gupta, Anne Ollen, Daniel Polsky, Peter Weems, Phillip Phan; 8/20/25Artificial intelligence (AI)-based technologies are quickly integrating into the US health care system. Unlocking their full potential for older adults—the fastest-growing demographic in the country—and rural populations facing health access and support crises is essential. On May 1, 2025, the Johns Hopkins Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratory (represented by coauthors Oh, Abadir, and Phan) and the National Institute on Aging hosted a summit on the future of geriatric medicine and AI, focusing on the challenges and effects of implementing AI-based technologies. We identified policy gaps and opportunities to support the fair and efficient use of AI technologies for older adults [including:]

Social workers’ role in improving hospice live discharge processes Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 8/26/25 A lack of standardized care coordination is challenging the ability for patients and families to receive support following a live discharge from hospice. Deeper integration of social work services may help address the issue. This is according to findings from a recent study published in the Journal of Gerontological Social Work, which examined different methodologies for preparing patients, family caregivers and providers for hospice-initiated live discharges from social worker perspectives. 

Indianapolis hospice patient’s final wish to drive around the track at IMSWISHTV.com 8 [Indianapolis, IN]; by Kyla Russell; 8/25/25An Indianapolis hospice patient has one final wish: to take a few laps around the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway inside an IndyCar or NASCAR stock car. His caretakers are trying to turn his dream into a reality. 64-year-old Douglas Smith is living with both prostate and lung cancer. But, he’s determined to make his final days full of memories... These days, Smith is mostly driving his decked out blue scooter outside the cozy Morning Light Home, a free-of-charge residence for individuals on hospice and of limited means... Morning Light is a free home for the terminally ill in Indiana. The team serves everyone, including the unhoused or low-income. It’s the second largest home of its kind in the nation.

Humana borrows UnitedHealth’s Medicare Advantage playbookModern Healthcare; by Nona Tepper; 8/25/25Humana's stock price is up 16.5% so far this year, a notable contrast to the [11.6%] declines the larger Medicare Advantage sector and industry leader UnitedHealth Group report. Humana's secret to success is its transparency into its focused business, experts say.

When patients arrive with answersJAMA Network; by Kumara Raja Sundar; 7/24/25Patients arriving with researched information is not new. They have long brought newspaper clippings, internet search results, or notes from conversations with family. Potential solutions passed along in WhatsApp threads have at times been an integral part of my clinical conversations. Information seeking outside the health care setting has always been part of the landscape of care. But something about this moment feels different. Generative artificial intelligence (AI), with tools like ChatGPT, offers information in ways that feel uniquely conversational and tailored. Their tone invites dialogue. Their confidence implies competence. Increasingly, patients are bringing AI-generated insights into my clinic and are sometimes confident enough to challenge my assessment and plan. I heard these tools were helpful, but I understood their appeal only after using them myself. Recent studies have bolstered this claim: large language models (LLMs) show surprising strength in reasoning and relational tone. After seeing it firsthand, my reaction was simple: “Man, I get why my patients like it.”

How older people are reaping brain benefits from new tech: New research “flips the script that technology is always bad.”Katie Couric Media; by Paula Span, KFF Health News; 8/24/25... Now [Wanda Woods] is an instructor with Senior Planet in Denver, an AARP-supported effort to help older people learn and stay abreast of technology. Woods has no plans to retire. Staying involved with tech “keeps me in the know, too,” she said. Some neuroscientists researching the effects of technology on older adults are inclined to agree. The first cohort of seniors to have contended — not always enthusiastically — with a digital society has reached the age when cognitive impairment becomes more common. Among the digital pioneer generation, use of everyday digital technology has been associated with reduced risk of cognitive impairment and dementia.

Over $37,000 raised at Hospice's Swim a Mile eventNorth Country Now [St. Lawrence County, NY]; 8/25/25On Saturday, August 2, Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley held its 15th annual Swim a Mile fundraiser and the community showed up in a big way. More than 40 swimmers jumped in the water to help raise $37,864.98, exceeding the fundraising goal.

Judge approves $2.8B Blues settlement with providersHealthcare Dive; by Rebecca Pifer; 8/22/25Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans have agreed to pay $2.8 billion to millions of hospitals, physicians and providers to settle allegations that they colluded for years to lower reimbursement.

Home care workers are more likely to live with older, sicker adults, new study findsMcKnight's Home Care; by Adam Healy; 8/21/25Compared to the average adult, home care workers are more likely to live with older seniors or those with long-term services and supports (LTSS) needs, according to a new study published in Health Affairs Scholar... Approximately 15% of these home care workers lived with those who needed LTSS, the study found. This compared to about 4% of nonhome care workers... This tendency among home care workers to live with older, sicker adults could be linked with their on-the-job duties, according to the study. “Household caregiving responsibilities may serve as an on-ramp into the home care workforce — both through employment within the home and through employment outside of it,” the study said. It added, “The flexible work schedules and high labor demand in the home care workforce may be particularly appealing to workers who must balance their employment with unpaid household caregiving responsibilities.” Another possibility is that home care workers are more capable of assisting older, sicker seniors with aging in place, and therefore have a higher likelihood of living with those who could use their care.Publisher's note: Perhaps this is important information regarding employee flexibility and retention.

Teleios announces fourth annual Care As It Should Be award winnersTeleios press release; by Tina Gentry; 8/21/25Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN) announced the fourth annual recipients of the Care As It Should Be Awards during the August Board of Directors Meeting. The purpose of the Care As It Should Be Awards is to recognize those individuals who make an extraordinary impact on the patients and families who they serve daily. “We know that each of the staff members who are on the front lines provide excellent care to patients, so these awards are to recognize those who take care to the next level – those who go above and beyond to make a patient’s experience the best that it can be during such vulnerable and challenging times,” said Chris Comeaux, President and CEO of TCN. The award recipients are:

Why some leaders create chaos to stay relevantForbes; by Benjamin Laker; 8/24/25Some leaders intentionally create chaos and manufactured urgency to maintain their relevance and perceived indispensability. This strategy, often driven by insecurity, harms productivity, morale, and innovation, while eroding trust and talent. Effective leadership fosters clarity, empowers teams, and builds resilient systems, rather than relying on constant crisis to prove worth.

Hospice was meant to offer dignity in death — but it fails the most marginalized. We need hospice programs that go to the streets, into shelters, behind barsSTAT; by Christopher M. Smith; 8/26/25I’ve spent more than a decade in hospice care, sitting at the bedsides of people facing the final days of their lives. I’ve held hands in hospital rooms, in tents, in prison cells, and in homes that barely qualify as such. And over time, I’ve come to see that dying in America is not just a medical event — it’s a mirror. It reflects everything we’ve failed to do for the living. Hospice was created to bring dignity to the dying — to manage pain, provide emotional and spiritual support, and ease the final passage for people with terminal illness. But the systems surrounding hospice care are riddled with inequity. The very people most in need of compassion — the unhoused, the incarcerated, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with disabilities — are systematically excluded, underserved, or erased. Access to a good death is too often reserved for the privileged, while everyone else is left to navigate a system that wasn’t built for them — or worse, actively works against them... The truth is, hospice care cannot achieve its mission unless it actively addresses the inequities built into the structures around it. We need hospice programs that go to the streets, into shelters, behind bars. We need training rooted in cultural humility, in antiracism, in trauma-informed care. We need to reimagine what it means to offer dignity to someone whose life has been defined by abandonment... Because dying is universal. But justice, even at the end of life, is still not.Publisher's note: STAT also references Dr. Ira Byock's article "The hospice industry needs major reforms. It should start with apologies, 8/22/23".