Consideration for Hospice Palliative Care at End of Life: Advancing Physician Refferals

Abstract

<p>Every month 54,000 American veterans die nationwide and of that number only 4% are given the options of hospice or palliative care available to them as part of their benefits package for serving their country. A Wright State University nursing graduate student within the Clinical Nurse Leader concentration will assess the effectiveness of a monthly orientation/in-service to medical residents, surgical residents, hospitalists, and other medical or surgical physician providers on various topics related to the process and significance of a hospice and or palliative care referral. Topics that will be presented for this hospice referral in-service/orientation will include referral guidelines set forth by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, veteran eligibility for hospice services, impact for average length of stay, who pays for end-of-life care on behalf of veterans who have been diagnosed with six months or less to live, where veterans can go to receive hospice care delivery and dialogue toward access options. Baseline data will compare the number of hospice referrals from four units before the in-service/orientation over the course of two months to the number of patients who receive hospice referrals after providers have been in-serviced over the course of two months. Monthly hospice and palliative care in-services will provide opportunities for education to medical providers regarding end-of-life care decision making which serves to advance patient autonomy, quality of life and hospice access through physician referral. By developing a concise hospice referral in-service for orientation on a monthly basis, this project hopes to improve the referral process through professional development of medical and surgical providers through Hospice & Palliative Care options for all dying veterans desperately in need of these services.</p><p>This presentation occurred at the Wright State University Campus-Wide Celebration of Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities on April 8, 2011</p>