Penn Medicine physicians have shed light on the results of a recent study that reveals an increase in palliative care following the introduction of a new ordering process. The doctors anticipate that this innovative strategy will enhance patient care and support.
Dr. Kate Courtright, MD, MS at Penn Medicine, expressed her views on the findings: "While early palliative care consultation could help many patients with chronic serious illnesses better understand their diagnosis and align their treatment choices to their individual care goals, there's never been an established approach to realizing that goal at scale". She further added, "We found that a simple, pre-programmed order within the electronic medical record can get more palliative care to more people more quickly". Courtright also highlighted the feasibility of this strategy by stating, "This strategy was low-cost and easily implemented in community hospitals, which is where most Americans receive their health care."
Palliative care is a hospital service offered to patients suffering from severe or chronic diseases. It aims to alleviate stress, manage the illness effectively and enhance life quality. Despite its immense benefits, it often remains underutilized. Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine embarked on a mission to determine whether a default electronic order for palliative care - one that could be cancelled - would augment its usage. This information was disclosed in a news release from Penn Medicine.
The study scrutinized 34,000 patients diagnosed with serious illnesses and found that the new method of ordering escalated palliative care rates from 16.6 percent to 43.9 percent. According to Courtright who is also the lead author of the study: "Our results suggest that the default order strategy was generally acceptable to clinicians...we need to design approaches that are feasible for ‘real-world’ practice and not just in the research setting," as per another news release from Penn Medicine.
Scott D. Halpern, MD, PhD, and senior author of the study emphasized the need for more evidence to guide future scaling and delivery of inpatient palliative care. He said, "We know that health care systems have limited resources...our goal is to continuously improve inpatient palliative care so that all patients and families facing a serious illness have access to the support they need to carry on with their daily lives throughout their treatment journey," as reported by Penn Medicine.
The study did not encourage hospitals to alter palliative care staffing levels. However, the research team intends to address staffing and training for palliative care in a subsequent study. In this upcoming clinical trial funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), researchers will provide palliative care training for nurses, physicians, and social workers aiming to further enhance this crucial aspect of patient care, according to another news release from Penn Medicine.
