Skip to main content

Ordering Palliative Care Consult by Default Increases Rate of Consultation

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Jan 22, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Jan. 22, 2024 -- Ordering palliative care consultation by default increases the rate of consultation but does not reduce the length of stay for older hospitalized patients with advanced chronic illness, according to a study published in the Jan. 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Katherine R. Courtright, M.D., from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues examined whether ordering palliative care consultation by default for seriously ill hospitalized patients without requiring greater palliative care staffing increases consultations and improves outcomes among patients aged 65 years or older with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia, or kidney failure compared with usual care, which allows clinicians to choose to order palliative care.

The primary analytic sample included 24,065 patients: 10,313 in the default order group and 13,752 in the usual care group. The researchers found that the percentage of patients receiving palliative care consultation was higher in the default order group versus the usual care group (43.9 versus 16.6 percent; adjusted odds ratio, 5.17), and they received consultation earlier (mean, 3.4 versus 4.6 days after admission). There was no difference observed in the length of stay between the groups. Compared with the usual care group, patients in the default order group had higher rates of do-not-resuscitate at discharge and discharge to hospice (adjusted odds ratios, 1.40 and 1.30, respectively).

"We know that health care systems have limited resources and need more evidence to guide future scaling and delivery of inpatient palliative care in an equitable and cost-effective manner," senior author Scott D. Halpern, M.D., Ph.D., also of the University of Pennsylvania, said in a statement. "As we build on this work, our goal is to continuously improve inpatient palliative care so that all patients and families facing a serious illness have access to the support they need to carry on with their daily lives throughout their treatment journey."

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted January 2024

Read this next

BMI Cutoff of 30 for Obesity May Be Too High for Middle-Aged, Older Adults

FRIDAY, May 31, 2024 -- The optimal body mass index (BMI) cutoff point appears to be 27 kg/m2 for detecting obesity in middle-aged and older adults, according to a study presented...

Emergency Inguinal Hernia Surgery Rates Increased With Lower Country Income

FRIDAY, May 31, 2024 -- For patients undergoing inguinal hernia surgery, emergency surgery rates increase from high- to low-income countries, according to a study published online...

Maternal Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein Levels Higher in Black Than White Women

FRIDAY, May 31, 2024 -- Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels are higher in Black than White pregnant women, supporting the use of accounting for these differences in...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.