The earlier a patient receives palliative care, the larger the return on investment, an analysis by the Pennsylvania-based health system WellSpan Health has found. Palliative care is often viewed as a cost center in health care, rather than a revenue generator. Beginning in 2018, WellSpan began to test that theory by examining financial metrics associated […]

Progress on growing access to quality palliative care has been challenged by hurdles in policy, payment and common misperceptions among patients and providers. Palliative care providers can help patients and families at various points along their health care trajectories, but the fragmentation in the nation’s health system has led to widespread access issues, according to […]

Clinicians often lack exposure to palliative care during their medical training – an issue blocking growth of this workforce during a time of rising demand. One key to growing the supply of palliative care clinicians hinges on data that demonstrates how these services improve patient outcomes. Quality data can help health care leaders across the […]

Standardized interdisciplinary team meetings, volunteer involvement and early intervention are among the beneficial components of community-based palliative care, a new study has found. Worldwide, providers that leverage these strategies, along with robust clinician and public education programs, achieve better outcomes, including more deaths occurring in the home, reduced hospitalizations and improved patient and family satisfaction, […]

Specialty palliative care reduces pain severity in most adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer, but work remains to reduce other symptoms, a recent study found. The study, published in JAMA by Canadian researcher Dr. Sumit Gupta and co-authors, reviewed data from 5,435 AYAs with cancer between the ages of 15- and 29-years-old. Regular symptom […]

Breast cancer patients often lack access to palliative care services, but the needle may be moving as researchers dig into common barriers and clinical and financial outcomes. A recent study of nearly 30,000 hospitalized metastatic breast cancer patients found that only 19% received palliative care from 2010 to 2014. The Scientific Reports study examined patient […]

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred substantial change in serious illness care. Particularly, it drew attention to palliative care’s widening role across the continuum. Demand for serious illness care soared during the outbreak boosted palliative care awareness and putt a greater emphasis on the value that these services can bring to seriously ill patients and families, according […]

Forthcoming Medicare payment models will likely focus on disease-specific programs that bear similarities to palliative care. Emerging reimbursement demonstrations have placed a stronger emphasis on addressing a more diverse group of patients with high levels of care needs and complex health trajectories. Examples include the Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) demonstration, the Accountable Care Organization Realizing […]

Palliative care providers are faced with uncertainties that abound over the regulatory future of telehealth as they continue to shape their programs. Some telehealth flexibilities that were temporarily implemented during the COVID public health emergency (PHE) are scheduled to sunset at the end of 2024. During the pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid […]

Patients and clinicians can benefit from having palliative care consults available in hospital emergency departments, though currently few providers have done so. Populations who most need palliative care are often chronically ill seniors with complex health conditions. Between 2014 and 2017, these patients accounted for more than 20% of all emergency department (ED) visits in […]