Measures That Matter: How Better Metrics Can Transform End-of-Life Care | PART TWO

Описание: Top News Stories of the Month January 2026

What we measure in healthcare shapes how patients and families experience the final chapter of life.

In Part Two of Measures That Matter, hosts Chris Comeaux, President & CEO of Teleios, and Cordt Kassner, PhD, Publisher of Hospice & Palliative Care Today and CEO & Founder of Hospice Analytics, explore how smarter, more focused metrics can improve hospice and palliative care in a value-based healthcare system.

Joined by Bob Tavares, Robin Heffernan, and Mindy Stewart-Coffee, the conversation challenges check-the-box quality measures and highlights the metrics that truly differentiate care—patient experience, timely visits, access to higher levels of care, and reduced burdensome transitions.

The episode also underscores the critical role of palliative care upstream from hospice, showing how earlier, multidisciplinary engagement reduces crises, aligns goals, and improves outcomes.

This episode is essential listening for hospice leaders, clinicians, healthcare executives, and policymakers focused on quality, value, and end-of-life care improvement.

Great hospice and palliative care isn’t accidental—it’s designed, supported, and measured.

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Chapters

00:00 – Welcome & Episode Overview
01:00 – Why Many Hospice Metrics Miss the Mark
04:30 – Defining Metrics That Truly Matter
08:30 – Key Hospice Measures Explained
13:00 – Why “More” Isn’t Always Better
17:30 – Access, Networks, and Market Challenges
22:45 – The Role of Palliative Care Upstream
28:45 – Measuring Palliative Care Impact
33:00 – CMS, Oversight, and Accountability
38:15 – Defining Value at the End of Life
46:30 – Final Thoughts & Brain Bookmark