Palliative Care Consult ServicePalliative Care Consult Service

Dr. David Grossman, MD

Brenda Eastham, CRNP

Marge Lang, LCSW

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What is Palliative Care?What is Palliative Care?

• Medical specialty focused on the relief of suffering associated with serious illness

– Physical Suffering

– Emotional Suffering

– Social Suffering

– Spiritual Suffering

• Beginning at the moment of diagnosis can help address symptoms and set goals of care

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What is the Palliative Care Consult Service?What is the Palliative Care Consult Service?

• Medical specialty team that supports physician’s care of patients and families with serious and life threatening illness

– Certified Palliative Care Physician

– Certified Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner

– Licensed Clinical Social Worker

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Palliative Care Consult ServicePalliative Care Consult Service

• Focused on

– Improvement of quality of life for both patient and family

• At all stages of illness

• Simultaneously with curative care

– Treatment of complex pain and symptoms

– Management of time-intensive patient-family communication

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When should I consult Palliative Care?When should I consult Palliative Care?

• Patients who require complex pain and symptom management where relief of symptoms is hard to achieve

• Patients/Families with time-intensive communication regarding goals of care and treatment options

• Help coordinate treating physician’s plan of care

– Discharge planning

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Why Should I Consult Palliative Care?Why Should I Consult Palliative Care?

• Number of Americans living with debilitating chronic and life threatening illness is growing

• Supports physician by supplementing and facilitating the plan of care

• Evidenced-based medical treatment

– Lower pain and discomfort

– Improve patient outcomes

• Improve patient satisfaction

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Early Palliative Care for Metastatic NSCLCEarly Palliative Care for Metastatic NSCLC

NEJM 363;8 733-742 AUG.19, 2010

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How do I consult Palliative Care?How do I consult Palliative Care?

• Go to Soarian Clinicals Order Entry

• CPOE Physician Consults

– Palliative Medicine

• Reason for consult

– Pain Management

– Non-Pain Symptom Management

– Goals of Care

– Transition Planning

– Advance Care Planning

– Complex Family Management

– Withdrawal of Life-Prolonging Interventions

– Other

• Free text message

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How can I contact the nurse practitioner?How can I contact the nurse practitioner?

• Brenda Eastham – 484-678-5349

• IntelliWeb – alpha page

• Office Number 610-732-6787

• Leave consult information

– Patients name

– Physician consulting

– Reason for consultation