Adaptations within Palliative Care Delivery Models Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic at a Tertiary Care Hospital

• Published in: Journal of palliative medicine Vol. 26; no. 4; p. 544
• Main Authors: Jain, Nelia, Bernacki, Rachelle E, Lee, Kathleen A, Siegel, Jocelyn H, Yenulevich, Eric G, Lally, Kate M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-04-2023
• Subjects: COVID-19; Humans; Neoplasms; Palliative Care; Pandemics; SARS-CoV-2; Tertiary Care Centers; COVID-19; population health; care delivery; serious illness conversation; palliative care
• ISSN: 1557-7740
• DOI: 10.1089/jpm.2022.0398

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, all facets of palliative care provision for patients with serious illness have faced unparalleled challenges.
We describe our palliative care program's response to the increased clinical volume associated with the pandemic by adapting workflows for inpatient and outpatient palliative care teams caring for oncology and nononcology populations.
During the initial surge, the demand for palliative care consultation for patients affected by SARS-CoV-2 was high, accounting for 75% of all inpatient palliative care referral requests for oncology and nononcology patients. Furthermore, our ambulatory clinic experienced a 40% increase in visits for complex oncology patients between February and December of 2020.
This article highlights transformations in palliative care delivery implemented in response to the pandemic and reflects on how these transformations have shaped our current care delivery models. We further delineate our intentional reliance on key population health principles to drive ongoing innovation in palliative care provision across our clinical teams.