Concrete, tradition-sourced practices a care team can offer, with the primary religious source cited and, where evidence exists, the specific value-based-care outcome it supports.
No practice → payment-model links are published yet. A link appears here only when an authoritative CMS/CMMI source states the relationship directly. Directional relevance is shown as alignment on each practice card instead — never as an official measure.
HOPE replaced the Hospice Item Set as the active Medicare hospice quality-reporting instrument.
11 of 11 practices
Palliative Symptom Care · Roman Catholicism
Anointing of the Sick (Sacrament)
PENDING REVIEW
A Catholic sacrament offered to the seriously ill; not reserved for the dying, and may be received more than once during an illness.
What care teams can do
Ask whether the patient or family would like a Catholic priest contacted.
Do not delay until the active dying phase — the sacrament is for serious illness, not only imminent death.
Coordinate with hospital chaplaincy to identify a priest with sacramental faculties.
Hospice & End-of-Life · Roman Catholicism
Artificial Nutrition & Hydration at End of Life
PENDING REVIEW
Catholic moral teaching considers food and water — including by artificial means — ordinarily obligatory, but recognizes they may become disproportionate when they no longer achieve their purpose or impose excessive burden.
What care teams can do
Frame ANH decisions as a discernment, not a binary 'withdraw vs. continue.'
Document the proportionality reasoning — burden, benefit, and the patient's overall trajectory.
Offer a Catholic ethicist or chaplain consult for complex cases.
Fasting & Treatment Decisions · Islam
Ramadan Fasting & Medication Timing
PENDING REVIEW
Healthy adult Muslims fast from dawn to sunset during Ramadan. Classical and contemporary jurists hold that the seriously ill are exempt; many patients still wish to fast and welcome a clinical-religious conversation about safer alternatives.
What care teams can do
Open the conversation early — weeks before Ramadan when possible.
Offer once-daily or twice-daily medication regimens that fit suhoor/iftar windows.
Document the patient's preference; do not assume exemption is wanted.
Refer high-risk patients (advanced CKD, brittle diabetes, advanced cancer) to a Muslim chaplain or imam familiar with medical fiqh.
Hospice & End-of-Life · Islam
Bedside Presence & Recitation at Dying
PENDING REVIEW
Some Muslim patients and families may value family presence, recitation or the shahada, qibla orientation, privacy/modesty, and maintaining enough alertness for religious practice. Preferences and legal opinions vary, so these should always be asked rather than assumed.
What care teams can do
Provide a quiet, family-accessible space; minimize interruptions in the last hours.
Ask whether qibla orientation, recitation, the shahada, privacy/modesty, or family presence matter to this patient.
Ask separately about post-death washing and burial preferences; do not assume timing or ritual requirements from identity alone.
Transplant & Organ Donation · Judaism
Organ Donation
PENDING REVIEW
Jewish legal views on deceased organ donation depend importantly on how death is determined. The Halachic Organ Donor Society (HODS) recognizes multiple halakhic positions and offers donor-card options for donation after brain death or after cessation of heartbeat.
What care teams can do
Offer the conversation; do not assume Jewish patients are opposed.
For observant patients, mention the HODS donor card option.
Coordinate with a community rabbi or chaplain for time-of-death halakhic questions.
After-Death Care & Funerals · Judaism
After-Death Care: Shemirah & Burial
PENDING REVIEW
In traditional Jewish after-death care, the deceased may be accompanied through shemirah, treated with kavod ha-met (honor for the dead), prepared by a chevra kadisha, and buried promptly when feasible.
What care teams can do
Ask whether the family wants shemirah or a chevra kadisha involved after death.
Avoid unnecessary delays in death pronouncement and release.
Ask about chevra kadisha involvement for ritual washing (tahara).
Hospice & End-of-Life · Hinduism
Dying Rituals & Ganga Jal
PENDING REVIEW
Some Hindu families may value mantra recitation near death, a small amount of Ganges water when safe, and prompt funeral preparations; practices vary by family, community, and lineage.
What care teams can do
Ask the family which prayers, mantras, or objects they would like at the bedside.
If requested, discuss whether a small amount of Ganges water can be offered safely given swallowing and aspiration risk.
Be aware that some families prefer the dying person at home; explore home-hospice referral early.
Hospice & End-of-Life · Buddhism (Plum Village example)
Mindful Presence at Dying (Plum Village example)
PENDING REVIEW
Plum Village teachings use mindfulness, breathing, and contemplation of impermanence and no-birth/no-death in caring for sickness and dying. This is one Buddhist tradition, not a summary of all Buddhist lineages.
What care teams can do
Ask the person or family whether quiet, mindful breathing, meditation, or sangha support would be helpful.
Do not infer post-death handling preferences from a Buddhist label; ask the family or community directly.
Elicit the patient’s own goals for alertness and symptom relief rather than assuming a Buddhist preference.
Chronic & Serious Illness · Jehovah's Witnesses
Blood Products & Patient Blood Management
PENDING REVIEW
Jehovah's Witnesses decline transfusion of whole blood and its primary components (red cells, platelets, plasma, white cells). Individual patients vary on fractions and autologous techniques; advance documentation is essential.
What care teams can do
Identify preferences at admission — never assume the same answer for fractions, cell salvage, or recombinant products.
Engage the patient's Hospital Liaison Committee where the patient requests it.
Plan bloodless-medicine pathways: iron optimization, erythropoietin, antifibrinolytics, surgical technique.
Palliative Symptom Care · Latter-day Saints
Priesthood Blessing of the Sick
PENDING REVIEW
Latter-day Saints may request a priesthood blessing — an anointing with consecrated oil and a blessing — at any point during illness; family members can request this through the local bishop.
What care teams can do
Offer to contact the local ward; many patients will not ask unprompted.
Allow private space for the blessing.
Note that there are no specific dietary or treatment restrictions tied to the blessing itself.
Advance Care Planning · Secular / Humanist
Values-Based Advance Care Planning (Non-Religious)
PENDING REVIEW
Some humanist and other non-religious patients prefer care conversations grounded in personal values, relationships, lived experience, and autonomy rather than religious language. Non-religious identity alone does not predict these preferences.
What care teams can do
Use values-elicitation tools (e.g., 'what makes a good day for you?') rather than scripture-based prompts.
Document worldview neutrally; avoid defaulting to religious language in chart notes.
Offer secular celebrants and humanist chaplains where available.
Reference guide only. Each practice is sourced from a primary religious authority; individual patient preferences vary within every tradition. Always ask the patient and family directly. Not medical, legal, or theological advice.