Date of Presentation
5-5-2022 12:00 AM
College
School of Osteopathic Medicine
Poster Abstract
With current medical advances, our patient population continues to age. This poses new challenges for healthcare practitioners to provide for elderly patients with complex and multifactorial medical needs. Particularly, this is a growing challenge in the emergency department (ED), where patients often present towards the last months of their lives. A study conducted by UCSF indicates 75% of patients in their last 6 month of life visited the ED. 56% to 99% of older adults do not have advance directives available at ED presentation. Therefore, ED visits towards the end of life is an opportune teaching moment for physicians to empower patients who are still well enough to communicate their goals of life and determine trajectory of medical care. 77% of patients seen in the ED during the last month of life were admitted to the hospital, and 68% of those admitted died there. In contrast, patients who enrolled in hospice at least one month before death rarely visited the ED during that time period. Most people say they prefer to receive end of life (EOL) care at home. Early identification palliative care (PC) needs, and initiation of comfort care can improve quality of life, decrease in-hospital mortality, decrease ED visits, and decrease hospital costs. Therefore, it is increasingly relevant for emergency medicine (EM) providers to have the resources and be equipped to provide palliative care.
Keywords
Emergency Medicine, Palliative Care, Patient Comfort, Health Services for the Aged
Disciplines
Emergency Medicine | Geriatrics | Health and Medical Administration | Health Services Research | Medical Humanities | Medicine and Health Sciences | Palliative Care
Document Type
Poster
Included in
Emergency Medicine Commons, Geriatrics Commons, Health and Medical Administration Commons, Health Services Research Commons, Medical Humanities Commons, Palliative Care Commons
Literature Review: Palliative Care in the Emergency Department
With current medical advances, our patient population continues to age. This poses new challenges for healthcare practitioners to provide for elderly patients with complex and multifactorial medical needs. Particularly, this is a growing challenge in the emergency department (ED), where patients often present towards the last months of their lives. A study conducted by UCSF indicates 75% of patients in their last 6 month of life visited the ED. 56% to 99% of older adults do not have advance directives available at ED presentation. Therefore, ED visits towards the end of life is an opportune teaching moment for physicians to empower patients who are still well enough to communicate their goals of life and determine trajectory of medical care. 77% of patients seen in the ED during the last month of life were admitted to the hospital, and 68% of those admitted died there. In contrast, patients who enrolled in hospice at least one month before death rarely visited the ED during that time period. Most people say they prefer to receive end of life (EOL) care at home. Early identification palliative care (PC) needs, and initiation of comfort care can improve quality of life, decrease in-hospital mortality, decrease ED visits, and decrease hospital costs. Therefore, it is increasingly relevant for emergency medicine (EM) providers to have the resources and be equipped to provide palliative care.