title: Technologies to support end-of-life care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the current level of utilization of informatics systems in hospice and palliative care and to discuss two projects that highlight the role of informatics applications for hospice informal caregivers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Published articles, Web resources, clinical practice, and ongoing research initiatives.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are currently few informatics interventions designed specifically for palliative and hospice care. Challenges such as interoperability, user acceptance, privacy, the digital divide, and allocation of resources all affect the diffusion of informatics tools in hospice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Caregiver support through use of information technology is feasible and may enhance hospice care.
authors.affiliation: Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, School of Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-7266, USA. gdemiris@uw.edu
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Demiris
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Parker Oliver
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wittenberg-Lyles
mesh_terms: D006738:Hospices / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007256:Information Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013727:Terminal Care