Daniel E. Ray

Models for structuring a clinical initiative to enhance palliative care in the intensive care unit: A report from the IPAL-ICU Project (Improving Palliative Care in the ICU)

Objective:To describe models used in successful clinical initiatives to improve the quality of palliative care in critical care settings. Data Sources:We searched the MEDLINE database from inception to April 2010 for all English language articles using the terms “intensive care,” “critical care,” or “ICU” and “palliative care”; we also hand-searched reference lists and author files. Based on review and synthesis of these data and the experiences of our interdisciplinary expert Advisory Board, we prepared this consensus report. Data Extraction and Synthesis:We critically reviewed the existing data with a focus on models that have been used to structure clinical initiatives to enhance palliative care for critically ill patients in intensive care units and their families. Conclusions:There are two main models for intensive care unit-palliative care integration: 1) the “consultative model,” which focuses on increasing the involvement and effectiveness of palliative care consultants in the care of intensive care unit patients and their families, particularly those patients identified as at highest risk for poor outcomes; and 2) the “integrative model,” which seeks to embed palliative care principles and interventions into daily practice by the intensive care unit team for all patients and families facing critical illness. These models are not mutually exclusive but rather represent the ends of a spectrum of approaches. Choosing an overall approach from among these models should be one of the earliest steps in planning an intensive care unit-palliative care initiative. This process entails a careful and realistic assessment of available resources, attitudes of key stakeholders, structural aspects of intensive care unit care, and patterns of local practice in the intensive care unit and hospital. A well-structured intensive care unit-palliative care initiative can provide important benefits for patients, families, and providers.

Proposed quality measures for palliative care in the critically ill: a consensus from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Critical Care Workgroup.

For critically ill patients and their loved ones, high-quality health care includes the provision of excellent palliative care. To achieve this goal, the healthcare system needs to identify, measure, and report specific targets for quality palliative care for critically ill or injured patients. Our objective was to use a consensus process to develop a preliminary set of quality measures to assess palliative care in the critically ill. We built on earlier and ongoing efforts of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Critical Care End-of-Life Peer Workgroup to propose specific measures of the structure and process of palliative care. We used an informal iterative consensus process to identify and refine a set of candidate quality measures. These candidate measures were developed by reviewing previous literature reviews, supplementing the evidence base with recently published systematic reviews and consensus statements, identifying existing indicators and measures, and adapting indicators from related fields for our objective. Among our primary sources, we identified existing measures from the Voluntary Hospital Associations Transformation of the ICU program and a government-sponsored systematic review performed by RAND Health to identify palliative care quality measures for cancer care. Our consensus group proposes 18 quality measures to assess the quality of palliative care for the critically ill and injured. A total of 14 of the proposed measures assess processes of care at the patient level, and four measures explore structural aspects of critical care delivery. Future research is needed to assess the relationship of these measures to desired health outcomes. Subsequent measure sets should also attempt to include outcome measures, such as patient or surrogate satisfaction, as the field develops the means to rigorously measure such outcomes. The proposed measures are intended to stimulate further discussion, testing, and refinement for quality of care measurement and enhancement.

Choosing and using screening criteria for palliative care consultation in the ICU: A report from the improving palliative care in the ICU (IPAL-ICU) advisory board

Objective:To review the use of screening criteria (also known as “triggers”) as a mechanism for engaging palliative care consultants to assist with care of critically ill patients and their families in the ICU. Data Sources:We searched the MEDLINE database from inception to December 2012 for all English-language articles using the terms “trigger,” “screen,” “referral,” “tool,” “triage,” “case-finding,” “assessment,” “checklist,” “proactive,” or “consultation,” together with “intensive care” or “critical care” and “palliative care,” “supportive care,” “end-of-life care,” or “ethics.” We also hand-searched reference lists and author files and relevant tools on the Center to Advance Palliative Care website. Study SelectionTwo members (a physician and a nurse with expertise in clinical research, intensive care, and palliative care) of the interdisciplinary Improving Palliative Care in the ICU Project Advisory Board presented studies and tools to the full Board, which made final selections by consensus. Data ExtractionWe critically reviewed the existing data and tools to identify screening criteria for palliative care consultation, to describe methods for selecting, implementing, and evaluating such criteria, and to consider alternative strategies for increasing access of ICU patients and families to high-quality palliative care. Data SynthesisThe Improving Palliative Care in the ICU Advisory Board used data and experience to address key questions relating to: existing screening criteria; optimal methods for selection, implementation, and evaluation of such criteria; and appropriateness of the screening approach for a particular ICU. Conclusions:Use of specific criteria to prompt proactive referral for palliative care consultation seems to help reduce utilization of ICU resources without changing mortality, while increasing involvement of palliative care specialists for critically ill patients and families in need. Existing data and resources can be used in developing such criteria, which should be tailored for a specific ICU, implemented through an organized process involving key stakeholders, and evaluated by appropriate measures. In some settings, other strategies for increasing access to palliative care may be more appropriate.

Integrating Palliative Care in the ICU: The Nurse in a Leading Role.

Palliative care is increasingly recognized as an integral component of comprehensive intensive care for all critically ill patients, regardless of prognosis, and for their families. Here we discuss the key role that nurses can and must continue to play in making this evidence-based paradigm a clinical reality across a broad range of ICUs. We review the contributions of nurses to implementation of ICU safety initiatives as a model that can be applied to ICU palliative care integration. We focus on the importance of nursing involvement in design and application of work processes that facilitate this integration in a systematic way, including processes that ensure the participation of nurses in discussions and decision making with families about care goals. We suggest ways that nurses can help to operationalize an integrated approach to palliative care in the ICU and to define their own essential role in a successful, sustainable ICU palliative care improvement effort. Finally, we identify resources including The IPAL-ICU ProjectTM, a new initiative by the Center to Advance Palliative Care that can assist nurses and other healthcare professionals to move such efforts forward in diverse critical care settings.

Integrating Palliative Care in the Surgical and Trauma Intensive Care Unit: A Report From the Improving Palliative Care in the Intensive Care Unit (IPAL-ICU) Project Advisory Board and the Center to Advance Palliative Care

Objective:Although successful models for palliative care delivery and quality improvement in the intensive care unit have been described, their applicability in surgical intensive care unit settings has not been fully addressed. We undertook to define specific challenges, strategies, and solutions for integration of palliative care in the surgical intensive care unit. Data Sources:We searched the MEDLINE database from inception to May 2011 for all English language articles using the term “surgical palliative care” or the terms “surgical critical care,” “surgical ICU,” “surgeon,” “trauma” or “transplant,” and “palliative care” or “end-of- life care” and hand-searched our personal files for additional articles. Based on review of these articles and the experiences of our interdisciplinary expert Advisory Board, we prepared this report. Data Extraction and Synthesis:We critically reviewed the existing literature on delivery of palliative care in the surgical intensive care unit setting focusing on challenges, strategies, models, and interventions to promote effective integration of palliative care for patients receiving surgical critical care and their families. Conclusions:Characteristics of patients with surgical disease and practices, attitudes, and interactions of different disciplines on the surgical critical care team present distinctive issues for intensive care unit palliative care integration and improvement. Physicians, nurses, and other team members in surgery, critical care and palliative care (if available) should be engaged collaboratively to identify challenges and develop strategies. “Consultative,” “integrative,” and combined models can be used to improve intensive care unit palliative care, although optimal use of trigger criteria for palliative care consultation has not yet been demonstrated. Important components of an improvement effort include attention to efficient work systems and practical tools and to attitudinal factors and “culture” in the unit and institution. Approaches that emphasize delivery of palliative care together with surgical critical care hold promise to better integrate palliative care into the surgical intensive care unit. (Crit Care Med 2012; 40:–1206)

Integrating Palliative Care into the Care of Neurocritically Ill Patients: A Report from the Improving Palliative Care in the ICU Project Advisory Board and the Center to Advance Palliative Care∗

Objectives:To describe unique features of neurocritical illness that are relevant to provision of high-quality palliative care; to discuss key prognostic aids and their limitations for neurocritical illnesses; to review challenges and strategies for establishing realistic goals of care for patients in the neuro-ICU; and to describe elements of best practice concerning symptom management, limitation of life support, and organ donation for the neurocritically ill. Data Sources:A search of PubMed and MEDLINE was conducted from inception through January 2015 for all English-language articles using the term “palliative care,” “supportive care,” “end-of-life care,” “withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy,” “limitation of life support,” “prognosis,” or “goals of care” together with “neurocritical care,” “neurointensive care,” “neurological,” “stroke,” “subarachnoid hemorrhage,” “intracerebral hemorrhage,” or “brain injury.” Data Extraction and Synthesis:We reviewed the existing literature on delivery of palliative care in the neurointensive care unit setting, focusing on challenges and strategies for establishing realistic and appropriate goals of care, symptom management, organ donation, and other considerations related to use and limitation of life-sustaining therapies for neurocritically ill patients. Based on review of these articles and the experiences of our interdisciplinary/interprofessional expert advisory board, this report was prepared to guide critical care staff, palliative care specialists, and others who practice in this setting. Conclusions:Most neurocritically ill patients and their families face the sudden onset of devastating cognitive and functional changes that challenge clinicians to provide patient-centered palliative care within a complex and often uncertain prognostic environment. Application of palliative care principles concerning symptom relief, goal setting, and family emotional support will provide clinicians a framework to address decision making at a time of crisis that enhances patient/family autonomy and clinician professionalism.

Integration of palliative care in the context of rapid response: A report from the improving palliative care in the ICU advisory board

Rapid response teams (RRTs) can effectively foster discussions about appropriate goals of care and address other emergent palliative care needs of patients and families facing life-threatening illness on hospital wards. In this article, The Improving Palliative Care in the ICU (IPAL-ICU) Project brings together interdisciplinary expertise and existing data to address the following: special challenges for providing palliative care in the rapid response setting, knowledge and skills needed by RRTs for delivery of high-quality palliative care, and strategies for improving the integration of palliative care with rapid response critical care. We discuss key components of communication with patients, families, and primary clinicians to develop a goal-directed treatment approach during a rapid response event. We also highlight the need for RRT expertise to initiate symptom relief. Strategies including specific clinician training and system initiatives are then recommended for RRT care improvement. We conclude by suggesting that as evaluation of their impact on other outcomes continues, performance by RRTs in meeting palliative care needs of patients and families should also be measured and improved.

Evaluation and Recommendations from a Study of a Critical-Care Waiting Room

&NA; The intensive care unit (ICU) waiting room is a dynamic place that influences the satisfaction of families of critically ill patients. Waiting‐room comfort and amenities are important, because families often spend a great deal of non‐visiting time there. A quality improvement evaluation of the ICU waiting room at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown, PA, was conducted. Methods included distribution of an 18‐item family survey, ethnographic observations, interviews, and assessment of the physical environment. Findings suggest that the role of the receptionist and access to food and other services were important to families and influenced their assessment of the quality of services provided by the ICU.

Physician reimbursement for critical care services integrating palliative care for patients who are critically ill.

Patients with advanced illness often spend time in an ICU, while nearly one-third of patients with advanced cancer who receive Medicare die in hospitals, often with failed ICU care. For most, death occurs following the withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining treatments. The integration of palliative care is essential for high-quality critical care. Although palliative care specialists are becoming increasingly available, intensivists and other physicians are also expected to provide basic palliative care, including symptom treatment and communication about goals of care. Patients who are critically ill are often unable to make decisions about their care. In these situations, physicians must meet with family members or other surrogates to determine appropriate medical treatments. These meetings require clinical expertise to ensure that patient values are explored for medical decision making about therapeutic options, including palliative care. Meetings with families take time. Issues related to the disease process, prognosis, and treatment plan are complex, and decisions about the use or limitation of intensive care therapies have life-or-death implications. Inadequate reimbursement for physician services may be a barrier to the optimal delivery of high-quality palliative care, including effective communication. Appropriate documentation of time spent integrating palliative and critical care for patients who are critically ill can be consistent with the Current Procedural Terminology codes (99291 and 99292) for critical care services. The purpose of this article is to help intensivists and other providers understand the circumstances in which integration of palliative and critical care meets the definition of critical care services for billing purposes.

Integrating palliative medicine and critical care in a community hospital.

Our objective was to describe the rationale and implementation of educational, environmental, clinical, and communication interventions designed to maximize indicators of improved palliative care in a community hospital intensive care unit. Surveys were used to develop educational content and methods for all levels of clinical staff and medical education. All clinical staff expressed confidence in clinical palliative processes but not in communication and psycho-spiritual issues shared with patient/families. An ambassador program and expanded visiting hours turned the waiting room into part of the therapeutic environment. New palliative order sets and practice guidelines were introduced. Interdisciplinary care planning was guided by a family communication record. Communication with families was enhanced by the use of the ambassadors, comprehensive care planning and sharing with the family within 24–48 hrs of admission, and ongoing meetings triggered by care plan changes. Quality indicators for intensive care unit–based palliative care proposed by experts provided a benchmark for evaluating the completeness of our intervention. Although not easily measured or demonstrated, it is our implicit assertion that this set of process and education interventions changed the daily nature of discourse in the intensive care unit among staff and between the staff, patients, and families.