Literature Review

Nursing homes can disrupt ‘rehabbed to death’ cycle with PDPM-based palliative care Skilled Nursing News; by Kristin Carroll; 9/7/25 ... Skilled nursing facilities can leverage the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) to provide more palliative care to people near the end of life, helping to drive value-based care goals while improving the patient experience. However, much more needs to be done on the policy level to disrupt the current status quo, in which people commonly go through several care transitions near the end of life, driving up costs across the health care system while patients receive services that are not aligned with their own goals. Enabling concurrent SNF and hospice care is one change that could lead to improvement. These are assertions in the recent article “Rehab and Death: Improving End-Of-Life Care for Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility Beneficiaries,” published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

[Global] Palliative care for special populations ehospice; by Howard Kinyua; 9/1/25

American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Announces Pierre M. Désy, MPH, CAE, as New Chief Executive OfficerIn late July, Pierre Désy, MPH, CAE became the new CEO of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Désy recently served as CEO of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) and the Foundation for Women's Cancer (FWC), where he led the development and implementation of strategic plans, revised bylaws, improved governance models, and advanced diversity and inclusion initiatives. Désy previously held executive leadership roles with the International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (IAOMS) and the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA). He has also served as a management consultant and coach, supporting healthcare associations and professionals in improving performance and achieving excellence. Désy said, "I am particularly energized to be part of an organization where I can bring together my public health background and decades of association management experience, and work alongside a team that shares my passion for building partnerships, advancing health equity, and supporting interdisciplinary collaboration to expand access to quality care. I am impressed by the work that has been accomplished by the Academy and look forward to working together to further its mission."Guest Editor Note, Ira Byock, MD: Mr. Désy’s public health background and substantial experience in executive roles of national specialty groups positions him well to lead AAHPM during this turbulent period in American healthcare. Hopefully, with his guidance the Academy will find ways to respond to the variability in access to and quality of hospice and palliative services and the widespread persistence of unmet needs among seriously ill and dying Americans.

Unity receives $25,000 grant from K.C. Stock Foundation to expand home-based palliative care service The Chamber - Manitowoc County, WI; 8/14/25 Unity is honored to announce the award of a $25,000 grant from the K.C. Stock Foundation to support its Supportive Care Management (SCM) program, which provides compassionate, home-based palliative care to individuals in Northeast Wisconsin facing serious illness. “We are deeply grateful to the K.C. Stock Foundation for recognizing the growing need for accessible palliative care,” says Unity Executive Director Alisa Gerke. ... Unity’s Supportive Care Management program provides an extra layer of support and education for individuals and their family when living with a serious illness, delivering expert care wherever a patient calls home. 

State Medicaid coverage policies for community-based palliative care: Lessons from NASHP’s State Institute National Academy for State Health Policy; by Ella Taggart, Wendy Fox-Grage; 8/11/25 Six states recently participated in NASHP’s two-year State Policy Institute to Improve Care for People with Serious Illness (the Institute): Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Ohio, Texas, and Washington. ... Specifically, the six participating states received guidance on policy mechanisms to cover palliative care services in the community and completed cost analysis on palliative care services for Medicaid beneficiaries. While all the states balanced the same forces and demands, ... each state modeled a benefit that was responsive to its particular needs and circumstances. ... CBIZ Optumas and TFA Analytics then designed a cost calculator for each state to help with different scenarios. 

Targeted palliative care may cut older adults’ risk of readmissions after elective surgeries: study McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Alicia Lasek; 7/27/25 Older adults with serious illness before elective surgery are at double the risk of extended hospital stays, readmissions, emergency department visits and costs, a new study has found. Targeting four key palliative care needs before surgery may help make the recovery period less burdensome for these patients and the healthcare system, the authors say. The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, looked at seriously ill older surgical patients to see what palliative care interventions might help reduce the need for excess healthcare use post surgery. Among 2,499 older adults undergoing major elective surgery, [researchers reported] 63% were seriously ill, and 79% had four key palliative care needs:

My mother refused treatment for her breast cancer. Her doctors should have respected her choice. Instead they dismissed her--and criticized me.STAT; by Joy Lisi Rankin; 7/21/25My mother died in January 2007. She told the family that she had breast cancer in 2002. We still don’t know when she knew, or when she had been diagnosed. One thing we did know: She chose not to treat the cancer. In her encounters with health care professionals — doctors, nurses, assistants — during the last years of her life, her choice was met with disbelief and disdain. “Why aren’t you treating your cancer?” “Do you understand what’s going to happen?” “You know you’re going to die, right?” A final thought went unsaid but was clear: “If you’re not going to do what I recommend, I can’t do anything for you.” [Limited access to STAT with three stories per month.]

Pallitus Health Partners receives CHAP Accreditation for Adult Palliative Care and Pediatric Care Certification for Kourageous Kids Pallitus Health Partners, Louisville, KY; Press Release; 7/8/25 Community Health Accreditation Partner, Inc. (CHAP) has awarded Care Guide Partners, Inc. (dba Pallitus Health Partners) CHAP Accreditation under the CHAP Palliative Care Standards of Excellence. The nonprofit also received certification for its Kourageous Kids (KKids) palliative care program. CHAP Accreditation demonstrates that Pallitus Health Partners meets the industry’s highest nationally recognized standards. The rigorous evaluation by CHAP focuses on structure and function, quality of services and products, human and financial resources, and long-term viability. Simply stated, adherence to CHAP’s standards leads to better quality care. ... Pallitus Health Partners, an affiliate of Hosparus Health, offers comprehensive palliative care for serious illnesses in Kentucky and Indiana. Editor's Note: Congratulations to Pallitus Health Partners and Hosparus Health! This accreditation marks yet another milestone of excellence this organization—originally founded as Hospice of Louisville—which pioneered one of the nation’s first pediatric hospice teams in 1980. I had the privilege of serving on the Pediatric Team of Hospice & Palliative Care of Louisville from 1997 to 2001. Profound experiences with these children, their parents, siblings, grandparents, our dedicated team members, and community partners are forever embedded in me. They continue to shape my perspective and purpose in my role as editor in chief of this newsletter.

Virginia Cancer Specialists expands and rebrands its Palliative Care Program to support patients through every step of cancer treatment PR Newswire, Fairfax, VA; Press Release; 7/8/25 Virginia Cancer Specialists, the largest private cancer practice in Northern Virginia, named #1 practice in cancer care and all medical specialties by Castle Connolly in 2024 and 2025, is proud to announce the rebranding and expansion of its former Palliative Care Program – now called Supportive Cancer Care – to deliver more comprehensive, integrated support services to help patients better maintain quality of life throughout the treatment process. Virginia Cancer Specialists designed this newly enhanced program with 3 key objectives:

Should palliative care be in the survivorship business? A podcast with Laura Petrillo, Laura ShoemakerGeriPal podcast; by Eric Widera, Alex Smith, Laura Petrillo, Laura Shoemaker; 7/3/25In this week’s episode, we dig into two deceptively simple questions: When does someone become a cancer survivor, and should palliative care be in the business of caring for them? Spoiler: It’s more complicated than it seems. We’ve invited two palliative care doctors to talk about survivorship with us: Laura Petrillo, a physician-researcher at Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and Laura Shoemaker, an outpatient palliative care doctor at the Cleveland Clinic. This episode is a must-listen for those navigating the evolving landscape of cancer care, and asking not just how we treat cancer, but how we support people who are living with it.

Addressing financial toxicity for patients and families facing serious illnessCAPC position statement; 6/23/25The U.S. is reaching a point of crisis in health care affordability. People living with serious illness in the U.S. are not only navigating complex medical conditions—they’re also facing overwhelming financial hardship. A new position statement from CAPC highlights that the prevalence of financial distress for patients and caregivers can climb as high as 53%, depending on diagnosis. The consequences of financial toxicity are staggering, manifesting in medical debt, low credit scores, and bankruptcy. Financial toxicity can also lead to delayed treatment, skipped medications, or other cost-related coping mechanisms that worsen health outcomes and increasing costs for hospitals and payers alike. CAPC’s new position statement outlines eight recommendations that can ease hardship for patients and caregivers, while improving financial stability for hospitals.Guest Editor's Note, Ira Byock: The importance of CAPC’s new position statement cannot be overstated. This report highlights one of the most difficult problems seriously ill patients and families encounter and goes further to provide tangible ways to diminish the impacts of financial toxicity to patients and the healthcare system. Key actions include routine financial screening and availability of trained financial navigators. The value of this statement extends well beyond palliative care; it should be considered must reading for leaders of hospitals, cancer centers, heart failure programs, and dementia treatment centers.

Recommendations for palliative care program standards Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC); last updated 5/29/25CAPC has synthesized the NCP Guidelines into an operational summary for payers and policymakers to use in credentialing palliative care providers or informing minimum program requirements. These recommendations call for: an interdisciplinary team with 3 or more essential clinical disciplines: physician, advance practice provider, nurse, social worker, spiritual care professional and a child life specialist for programs serving children. One or more prescribers must have specialty certification in palliative care with others documenting some specialty training. PC services must include Comprehensive patient assessments, Pain and symptom management, Documented conversations about condition, treatment options, and goals of care, Psychological, social and spiritual support, Patient and family/caregiver education, and Coordination with behavior health and community health resources, and Development of a crisis intervention plan. The recommendations also specify 24/7 access to a prescribing clinician, clear discharge criteria, and routine evaluations of program quality.Guest Editor's Note, Ira Byock: These new recommendations from CAPC are timely and important. Building from the NCP Guidelines, CAPC is providing a framework for developing formal standards. That task is urgent given the pressures programs are under to reduce staffing, limit hours of service, and scope of services. I appreciate inclusion of crisis intervention planning, which should be a critical part of every palliative plan of care. The recommendations are strong, yet the statement’s wording is hesitant in tone. CAPC has the organizational stature to issue explicit minimum specifications for programs that purport to deliver palliative care. Health plans, payers, referring providers, and patients deserve assurance that such minimums are met or exceeded. CAPC has taken a significant step in the right direction.