Predicting Which Patients Will Benefit From Palliative Care: Use of Bundles, Triggers, and Protocols.
Intensive care units provide a wide range of care to patients with serious or life-threatening conditions. This care provides excellent state-of-the-art interventions, often concentrated on meeting national health priorities and performance measures. Overall patient care and the resultant outcomes in the intensive care unit are superb. However, one area that needs improvement is the provision of high-quality palliative care (PC) and end-of-life care. Many providers and administrators now realize implementing PC in the critical care setting is vital to optimal patient outcomes. PC improves patient and family satisfaction and quality of life, reduces length of stay and 30-day readmission rates, and patients can live longer with PC.
Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program, University of Florida, College of Nursing, 1225 Center Drive, PO Box 100187, Gainesville, FL 32610-0187, USA. Electronic address: hartjtm@ufl.edu.
Tonja M
TM
Hartjes
D003142:Communication; D016638:Critical Illness; D005190:Family; D064946:Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007902:Length of Stay; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000458:organization & administration
Bundles; Communication; End-of life care; ICU; Interdisciplinary teams; Palliative care; Protocols; Triggers