Review of the Literature: Palliative Care Guidelines
Full articles supporting the Palliative Care Guidelines can be found here.
“According to a large study at University of California San Francisco, nearly 70% of nursing residents are eligible for palliative care but do not receive any corresponding support to provide relief from their symptoms and improve their quality of life.” UCSF, 2017
“Palliative care, a form of patient centered care focused on quality of life for the seriously ill, should be a standard of practice for all elderly patients with complex illness in nursing homes.” Diane Meier, 2020
“Early identification of palliative care eligible residents helps health systems and facilities target efforts designed to meet documented patient preferences, improve symptom management and reduce burdensome care transitions at the end of life.” JAMA, 2018
“Palliative care is designed to assess, prevent and manage physical and psychological symptom and focus on communications that establish patient goals of care and assist patient with medical decision making about treatment options. Patients can and should receive palliative care while continuing curative treatment at any stage of their illness and studies show that early palliative care interventions improve quality of life and increase patient and family satisfaction.” Report of the The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Council on Medical Services, 2021
“As suggested by POLICY H-85.951, it is important for physicians to be familiar with palliative care resources and refer accordingly.” Report of the The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Council on Medical Services, 2021
“The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recommends the American Medical Association increase access and referral to comprehensive palliative care services for Medicare patients in skilled nursing facilities.” Institute of Medicine, 2015
“‘Serious Illness’ is a health condition that carries high risk of mortality AND either negatively impacts a person’s daily function or quality of life, OR excessively strains their caregivers. An upstream and proactive approach to meeting the needs of this vulnerable population requires a method of prospective identification through administrative data or screening.” Journal of Palliative Medicine, 2018 and used by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center for identification of seriously ill Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) REACH patients, 2019-2026