Urgent palliative care: An effective intervention to improve end-of-life experience and outcomes for patients with advanced cancer.

• DOI: 10.1200/op.2024.20.10_suppl.203
• Publication Date: 2024-09-30T13:33:33Z
• Authors: Kasey Bowden; Grace Maurer; Jonathan Treem
• Keywords: End-of-Life Care

203 Background: Early integration of palliative care services for advanced oncology patients has a well-documented benefit on quality-of-life measures including symptom management, quality-of-death measures, cost-effectiveness, care-giver burden, and patient satisfaction metrics. However many barriers exist, delayed referrals negative perceptions hospice/palliative by families. Furthermore, wait times from referral to visit can vary weeks months. For with late-stage disease, rapidly advancing disease or symptoms, this delay lead unnecessary acute utilization, impoverished quality-of-life, discordant end-of-life care. Methods: The CU Cancer Center CARE clinic provides management urgent patients, often seeing high burden disease. A recent unpublished case-based analysis demonstrated that seen in 4 more month have risk inpatient mortality within 3 In response, the created an program wherein ability see provider 1 week who could provide ongoing management/medication titration facilitate conversations around goal-concordant illness. 1-year feasibility pilot took place 2022-2023. Referrals required meet following criteria: 1) Not already being ambulatory professional; 2) any following: prognosis without plan; symptoms likely require hospitalization if not addressed week; last From 09/2022-08/2023, 55 were seen. Outcomes followed months final compared had received preceding year (9/2021-9/2022). Results: In-hospital deaths, hospital days 30 life, care/hospice involvement all positively affected our initial pilot. Notably, in-hospital deaths reduced 50%. There was also 14% increase hospice group control group. Conclusions: Data suggest improve key metrics quality-of-care, cost effectiveness. Further delineation outcomes rigorously controlled population will further define relative clinical fiscal implications such interventions. Urgent outcomes. Historical Control (2021-2022) Pilot (2022-2023) N 44 Hospitalizations 101 52 Deaths (68%) 40 (72%) Hospital 8 (18%) 5 (9%) With Hospice Care 21 (47%) 34 (61%)