Current status of palliative care--clinical implementation, education, and research

Palliative and end-of-life care is changing in the United States. This dynamic field is improving care for patients with serious and life-threatening cancer through creation of national guidelines for quality care, multidisciplinary educational offerings, research endeavors, and resources made available to clinicians. Barriers to implementing quality palliative care across cancer populations include a rapidly expanding population of older adults who will need cancer care and a decrease in the workforce available to give care. Methods of integrating current palliative care knowledge into care of patients include multidisciplinary national education and research endeavors, and clinician resources. Acceptance of palliative care as a recognized medical specialty provides a valuable resource for improvement of care. Although compilation of evidence for the importance of palliative care specialities is in its initial stages, national research grants have provided support to build the knowledge necessary for appropriate palliative care. Opportunities are available to clinicians for understanding and applying appropriate palliative and end-of-life care to patients with serious and life-threatening cancers.

Hospice characteristics and the disenrollment of patients with cancer

OBJECTIVE

To characterize the types of hospices with higher rates of patient disenrollment from the Medicare Hospice Benefit and the markets in which these hospices operate.

DATA SOURCE

Secondary analyses of Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-Medicare data. Analyses included patients who died of cancer from 1998 to 2002 and who used hospice (n=90,826).

STUDY DESIGN

We used generalized estimating equations to estimate the association of patient disenrollment with hospice size, years since Medicare certification, ownership, staff mix, competition, urban/rural status, region, and fiscal intermediary. Other covariates included patient demographic and clinical characteristics.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

Patients were more likely to disenroll from hospice if they were served by newer hospices (OR=1.14; 95 percent CI 1.03, 1.26), by smaller hospices (OR=1.11; 95 percent CI 1.02, 1.20), or by hospices in more competitive markets (OR=1.17; 95 percent CI 1.03, 1.35). There was an independent effect of the hospice's fiscal intermediary on disenrollment, particularly disenrollment after 6 months with hospice (Wald chi(2)=21.2, p=.007).

CONCLUSIONS

The reasons for higher disenrollment rates for newer hospices, for smaller hospices, and for hospices in highly competitive markets are likely complex; however, results suggest that there are organizational-level barriers to keeping patients with cancer enrolled with hospice. Variation across fiscal intermediaries may indicate that regulatory oversight, particularly of long-stay patients, influences hospice disenrollment.

The ironic business case for chronic care in the acute care setting

The U.S. health care system provides acute care tools to deal with the problems of chronic disease, and strategies are needed to engage hospitals in chronic care innovations. Acute care-based models that improve chronic care have been developed, but their diffusion is limited by the absence of a business case for adoption. Yet a financial case for improving chronic care is possible by aggregating previously tested models into a service line that can be customized to local circumstances. Beyond benefits to hospitals, patients and payers could benefit from improved patient outcomes and costs; society could benefit from more appropriate deployment of resources.

Variability in access to hospital palliative care in the United States

BACKGROUND

Hospital palliative care programs provide high-quality, comprehensive care for seriously ill patients and their families.

OBJECTIVE

To examine geographic variation in patient and medical trainee access to hospital palliative care and to examine predictors of these programs.

METHODS

Primary and secondary analyses of national survey and census data. Hospital data including hospital palliative care programs were obtained from the American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey Databasetrade mark for fiscal year 2006 supplemented by mailed surveys. Medical school-affiliated hospitals were obtained from the American Association of Medical Colleges, Web-site review, and telephone survey. Health care utilization data were obtained from the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care 2008. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify characteristics significantly associated with the presence of hospital palliative care.

RESULTS

A total of 52.8% of hospitals with 50 or more total facility beds reported hospital palliative care with considerable variation by state; 40.9% (144/352) of public hospitals, 20.3% (84/413) of for-profit hospitals, and 28.8% (160/554) of Medicare sole community providers reported hospital palliative care. A total of 84.5% of medical schools were associated with at least one hospital palliative care program. Factors significantly associated (p < 0.05) with hospital palliative care included geographic location, owning a hospice program, having an American College of Surgery approved cancer program, percent of persons in the county with a university education, and medical school affiliation. For-profit and public hospitals were significantly less likely to have hospital palliative care when compared with nonprofit institutions. States with higher hospital palliative care penetration rates were observed to have fewer Medicare hospital deaths, fewer intensive care unit/cardiac care unit (ICU/CCU) days and admissions during the last 6 months of life, fewer ICU/CCU admission during terminal hospitalizations, and lower overall Medicare spending/enrollee.

DISCUSSION

This study represents the most recent estimate to date of the prevalence of hospital palliative care in the United States. There is wide geographic variation in access to palliative care services although factors predicting hospital palliative care have not changed since 2005. Overall, medical students have high rates of access to hospital palliative care although complete penetration into academic settings has not occurred. The association between hospital palliative care penetration and lower Medicare costs is intriguing and deserving of further study.

A novel interdisciplinary analgesic program reduces pain and improves function in older adults after orthopedic surgery

OBJECTIVES

To examine the effect of a multicomponent intervention on pain and function after orthopedic surgery.

DESIGN

Controlled prospective propensity score-matched clinical trial.

SETTING

New York City acute rehabilitation hospital.

PARTICIPANTS

Two hundred forty-nine patients admitted to rehabilitation after hip fracture repair (n=51) or hip (n=64) or knee (n=134) arthroplasty.

INTERVENTION

Pain assessment at rest and with physical therapy (PT) by staff using numeric rating scales (1 to 5). Physician protocols for standing analgesia and preemptive analgesia before PT were implemented on the intervention unit. Control unit patients received usual care.

MEASUREMENTS

Pain, analgesic prescribing, gait speed, transfer time, and percentage of PT sessions completed during admission. Pain and difficulty walking at 6, 12, 18, and 24 weeks after discharge.

RESULTS

In multivariable analyses intervention patients were significantly more likely than controls to report no or mild pain at rest (66% vs 49%, P=.004) and with PT (52% vs 38%, P=.02) on average for the first 7 days of rehabilitation, had faster 8-foot-walk times on Days 4 (9.3 seconds vs 13.2 seconds, P=.02) and 7 (6.9 vs 9.2 seconds, P=.02), received more analgesia (23.6 vs 15.6 mg of morphine sulfate equivalents per day, P<.001), were more likely to receive standing orders for analgesia (98% vs 48%, P<.001), and had significantly shorter lengths of stay (10.1 vs 11.3 days, P=.005). At 6 months, intervention patients were less likely than controls to report moderate to severe pain with walking (4% vs 15%, P=.02) and that pain did not interfere with walking (7% vs 18%, P=.004) and were less likely to be taking analgesics (35% vs 51%, P=.03).

CONCLUSION

The intervention improved postoperative pain, reduced chronic pain, and improved function.

Emergency department crowding and decreased quality of pain care

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of emergency department (ED) crowding factors with the quality of pain care.

METHODS

This was a retrospective observational study of all adult patients (> or =18 years) with conditions warranting pain care seen at an academic, urban, tertiary care ED from July 1 to July 31, 2005, and December 1 to December 31, 2005. Patients were included if they presented with a chief complaint of pain and a final ED diagnosis of a painful condition. Predictor ED crowding variables studied were 1) census, 2) number of admitted patients waiting for inpatient beds (boarders), and 3) number of boarders divided by ED census (boarding burden). The outcomes of interest were process of pain care measures: documentation of clinician pain assessment, medications ordered, and times of activities (e.g., arrival, assessment, ordering of medications).

RESULTS

A total of 1,068 patient visits were reviewed. Fewer patients received analgesic medication during periods of high census (>50th percentile; parameter estimate = -0.47; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.80 to -0.07). There was a direct correlation with total ED census and increased time to pain assessment (Spearman r = 0.33, p < 0.0001), time to analgesic medication ordering (r = 0.22, p < 0.0001), and time to analgesic medication administration (r = 0.25, p < 0.0001). There were significant delays (>1 hour) for pain assessment and the ordering and administration of analgesic medication during periods of high ED census and number of boarders, but not with boarding burden.

CONCLUSIONS

ED crowding as measured by patient volume negatively impacts patient care. Greater numbers of patients in the ED, whether as total census or number of boarders, were associated with worse pain care.

Titrating guidance: a model to guide physicians in assisting patients and family members who are facing complex decisions

Over the last century, developments in new medical treatments have led to an exponential increase in longevity, but, as a consequence, patients may be left with chronic illness associated with long-term severe functional and cognitive disability. Patients and their families are often forced to make a difficult and complex choice between death and long-term debility, neither of which is an acceptable outcome. Traditional models of medical decision making, however, do not fully address how clinicians should best assist with these decisions. Herein, we present a new paradigm that demonstrates how the role of the physician changes over time in response to the curved relationship between the predictability of a patient's outcome and the chance of returning to an acceptable quality of life. To translate this model into clinical practice, we propose a 5-step model for physicians with which they can (1) determine at which point the patient is on our model; (2) identify the cognitive factors and preferences for outcomes that affect the decision-making process of the patient and his or her family; (3) reflect on their own reaction to the decision at hand; (4) acknowledge how these factors can be addressed in conversation; and (5) guide the patient and his or her family in creating a plan of care. This model can help improve patient-physician communication and decision making so that complex and difficult decisions can be turned into ones that yield to medical expertise, good communication, and personal caring.

Cost savings associated with US hospital palliative care consultation programs

BACKGROUND

Hospital palliative care consultation teams have been shown to improve care for adults with serious illness. This study examined the effect of palliative care teams on hospital costs.

METHODS

We analyzed administrative data from 8 hospitals with established palliative care programs for the years 2002 through 2004. Patients receiving palliative care were matched by propensity score to patients receiving usual care. Generalized linear models were estimated for costs per admission and per hospital day.

RESULTS

Of the 2966 palliative care patients who were discharged alive, 2630 palliative care patients (89%) were matched to 18,427 usual care patients, and of the 2388 palliative care patients who died, 2278 (95%) were matched to 2124 usual care patients. The palliative care patients who were discharged alive had an adjusted net savings of $1696 in direct costs per admission (P = .004) and $279 in direct costs per day (P < .001) including significant reductions in laboratory and intensive care unit costs compared with usual care patients. The palliative care patients who died had an adjusted net savings of $4908 in direct costs per admission (P = .003) and $374 in direct costs per day (P < .001) including significant reductions in pharmacy, laboratory, and intensive care unit costs compared with usual care patients. Two confirmatory analyses were performed. Including mean costs per day before palliative care and before a comparable reference day for usual care patients in the propensity score models resulted in similar results. Estimating costs for palliative care patients assuming that they did not receive palliative care resulted in projected costs that were not significantly different from usual care costs.

CONCLUSION

Hospital palliative care consultation teams are associated with significant hospital cost savings.

Improving access to hospice care: informing the debate

The most frequently cited policy solution for improving access to hospice care for patients and families is to expand hospice eligibility criteria under the Medicare Hospice Benefit. However, the substantial implications of such a policy change have not been fully articulated or evaluated. This paper seeks to identify and describe the implications of expanding Medicare Hospice Benefit eligibility on the nature of hospice care, the cost of hospice care to the Medicare program, and the very structure of hospice and palliative care delivery in the United States. The growth in hospice has been dramatic and the central issue facing policymakers and the hospice industry is defining the appropriate target population for hospice care. As policymakers and the hospice industry discuss the future of hospice and potential changes to the Medicare Hospice Benefit, it is critical to clearly delineate the options--and the implications and challenges of each option--for improving access to hospice care for patients and families.

Regulating palliative care: the case of hospice

Palliative care services provided to patients and families vary substantially across hospices. Literature suggests regulation can act as a standardizing force in health care delivery. However, little is known about the effect of regulation on the delivery of palliative care in hospice and whether its effect differs for different types of hospice providers. We estimated the association between regulation, defined as Medicare hospice certification, and the delivery of palliative care in hospice using a nationally representative data set of 9,409 patients from 2,066 hospices surveyed in the National Home and Hospice Care Survey, 1992-2000. Using multivariable analysis, we found Medicare hospice certification was associated with a significantly broader range of services provided to patients (odds ratio [OR]=2.45; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.16, 5.17). This effect was significantly more pronounced (P-value for interaction=0.001) among for-profit hospices (OR=15.24; 95% CI: 4.06, 57.17) than among nonprofit hospices (OR=1.53; 95% CI: 0.75, 3.14). The effect of ownership on certification differences was most apparent for the provision of skilled nursing (prevalence difference in difference=52.4%), spiritual care (prevalence difference in difference=49.6%), and social services (prevalence difference in difference=48.1%). This study is the first to demonstrate the substantial association between the regulation of hospices and the provision of a multidisciplinary range of services to patients and families. It provides valuable insights regarding the potential role of regulation in standardizing the quality of palliative care across the increasingly diverse palliative care programs developing outside of hospice.

Does palliative care improve quality? A survey of bereaved family members

Palliative care is the interdisciplinary specialty that aims to relieve suffering and improve the quality of care for patients with serious illness and their families. Although palliative care programs are becoming increasingly prevalent in U.S. hospitals, the impact of hospital palliative care consultation programs on the quality of care received by family members is not well understood. We conducted prospective quantitative telephonic interviews of family members of patients who died at Mount Sinai Medical Center between April and December 2005 using the validated "After-Death Bereaved Family Member Interview," to assess quality of medical care at the end of life. Multivariable techniques were used to compare family satisfaction of palliative care patients vs. usual care patients controlling for age, race (white vs. nonwhite), diagnosis (cancer vs. noncancer), socioeconomic status (Medicaid vs. non-Medicaid), and functional status (number of dependent activities of daily living). One hundred ninety eligible subjects were contacted and successful interviews were completed with 149 (78.4%) family members (54 palliative care and 95 usual care patients). Palliative care showed benefit, with 65% of palliative care patients' family members reporting that their emotional or spiritual needs were met, as compared to 35% of usual care patients' family members (P=0.004). Sixty-seven percent of palliative care patients' family members reported confidence in one or more self-efficacy domains, as compared to 44% of usual care patients' family members (P=0.03). Our study shows that palliative care consultation is associated with improved satisfaction, with attention to family and enhanced self-efficacy. Palliative care offers a unique approach by integrating the needs of the family into the care of the patient.

Palliative care for patients with head and neck cancer: "I would like a quick return to a normal lifestyle"

Head and neck cancers constitute a diverse group of diseases including malignancies of the oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx, sinuses, and skull base. Treatment of these cancers includes a combination of surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiation. Due to both the patterns of disease recurrence and the adverse effects of treatments, patients with head and neck cancer often have a complex and prolonged course of illness that is marked by periods of freedom from disease and symptoms interspersed with bouts of serious illness, debility, and numerous physical and psychological symptoms including pain, dysphagia, weight loss, disfigurement, depression, and xerostomia. Thus, management of this disease is best provided by an interdisciplinary team that includes individuals from the disciplines of otolaryngology, palliative care, radiation oncology, oncology, nutrition, speech, and physical and occupational therapy. Using the case of Mr K, we describe the symptoms encountered by patients with head and neck cancer and suggest options for management. We discuss the psychological aspects that affect these patients, including issues such as changes in body image, quality of life, anxiety, and guilt. Finally, we discuss the importance of the interdisciplinary team in the care of these patients and outline the roles of each team member. By providing comprehensive care to patients with malignancies of the head and neck, clinicians can increase the likelihood that patients and their families will be able to obtain the best possible outcomes and quality of life.

Communication about chronic critical illness

BACKGROUND

Despite poor outcomes, life-sustaining treatments including mechanical ventilation are continued for a large and growing population of patients with chronic critical illness. This may be owing in part to a lack of understanding resulting from inadequate communication between clinicians and patients and families. Our objective was to investigate the informational needs of patients with chronic critical illness and their families and the extent to which these needs are met.

METHODS

In this prospective observational study conducted at 5 adult intensive care units in a large, university-affiliated hospital in New York, New York, 100 patients with chronic critical illness (within 3-7 days of elective tracheotomy for prolonged mechanical ventilation) or surrogates for incapacitated patients were surveyed using an 18-item questionnaire addressing communication about chronic critical illness. Main outcome measures included ratings of importance and reports of whether information was received about questionnaire items.

RESULTS

Among 125 consecutive, eligible patients, 100 (80%) were enrolled; questionnaire respondents included 2 patients and 98 surrogates. For all items, more than 78% of respondents rated the information as important for decision making (>98% for 16 of 18 items). Respondents reported receiving no information for a mean (SD) of 9.0 (3.3) of 18 items, with 95% of respondents reporting not receiving information for approximately one-quarter of the items. Of the subjects rating the item as important, 77 of 96 (80%) and 69 of 74 (93%) reported receiving no information about expected functional status at hospital discharge and prognosis for 1-year survival, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Many patients and their families may lack important information for decision making about continuation of treatment in the chronic phase of critical illness. Strategies for effective communication in this clinical context should be investigated and implemented.

Elevated rates of prolonged grief disorder in African Americans

The prevalence of Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) in non-Whites is currently unknown. This study was performed to explore the prevalence of PGD in African Americans (AAs). Multivariable analysis of two studies of recently bereaved individuals found AAs to have significantly higher rates of PGD than Whites (21% [14 of 66] vs. 12% [55 of 471], respectively; p = 0.03). Experiencing a loved one's death as sudden or unexpected was also significantly associated with PGD over and above the effects of race/ethnicity. AAs may be at increased risk for the development of PGD. The development of effective interventions to treat PGD highlights the need to identify high-risk individuals and refer them to therapy and suggests the potential need for such therapies to adopt culturally sensitive approaches to care.

Hospice care: what services do patients and their families receive?

OBJECTIVE

To determine the degree to which patients and families enrolled with hospice received services across key categories of palliative care, the extent of hospice-level variability in services delivered, and changes over time in services delivered.

DATA SOURCE

Nationally representative sample of 9,409 discharged patients from 2,066 hospices in the National Home and Hospice Care Survey.

STUDY DESIGN

Observational, cross-sectional study conducted from 1992 to 2000. The primary outcome is the receipt of services across five key categories of palliative care: nursing care, physician care, medication management, psychosocial care, and caregiver support.

DATA COLLECTION

Data were obtained via interview with the hospice staff member most familiar with the patient's care, in conjunction with medical record review.

PRINCIPLE FINDINGS

In 2000, 22 percent of patients enrolled with hospice received services across five key categories of palliative care. There was marked variation across hospices in service delivery. One-third of hospices provided patients and families services in one or two of the five key categories of palliative care, whereas 14 percent of hospices provided services across five key categories of palliative care. In multivariable analysis, the odds of receiving any additional hospice service was significantly greater in later compared with earlier years (odds ratio=1.10, 95 percent confidence interval 1.01-1.20). Nevertheless, the percentages of patients in 2000 receiving medication management (59 percent), respite care (7 percent), and physician services (30 percent) remained low.

CONCLUSIONS

Hospice care for patients and families varies substantially across hospices. Whereas some hospices provide services across the key categories of palliative care, other hospices do not provide this breadth of services. Greater understanding of the causes of variation in service delivery as well as its impact on patient and family outcomes and satisfaction with end-of-life care is a critical subject for future research. Changes in Medicare's reimbursement policies may help hospices increase the range of services provided to patients and families.