Analysis of the First Year of a Non Oncologic Outpatient Palliative Care Practice

Outcomes 1. Describe the patient population served by an outpatient non-oncology palliative care clinic and areas to expand this care. 2. Identify measurable outcomes of patient care, including healthcare utilization, metric data, and barriers to care. Key Message A weekly non-oncologic palliative clinic was implemented to meet outpatient palliative care needs for patients with complex chronic medical conditions. A retrospective chart review of the first year of patients was performed and analyzed to assess populations served, interventions provided, utilization metrics, and identify areas for growth and multidisciplinary collaboration. Introduction Outpatient palliative care for patients with cancer has grown significantly over the past decade. Although palliative care has also been shown to improve quality of life and symptom burden in patients with other complex chronic conditions including end-stage pulmonary and cardiac disease, outpatient non-oncologic palliative care remains sparse.1,2 To meet the needs of these patients we implemented a weekly Non-Oncologic Outpatient Palliative Care Clinic at a tertiary urban academic medical center. We also developed partnerships with other medical departments to increase palliative care access for medically complex patients. Methods A retrospective chart review was completed of all 104 patients scheduled for Non-Oncologic Outpatient Palliative Care Clinic from July 1st 2022 to July 1st 2023. Data analysis evaluated medical complexity, symptoms addressed, primary referral diagnosis, chronic medical conditions, and polypharmacy. Utilization metrics include re-hospitalization for primary condition, telehealth utilization, clinic attendance data, and hospice referrals. To assess diversity and inclusion, we collected metrics on race, insurance, and home zip code to investigate barriers to care. Analysis and presentation of this data will guide future targeted outreach to improve access to palliative care for particularly vulnerable populations, as well as refining our ongoing multidisciplinary collaborations. Keywords Models of Palliative Care Delivery; Quality Improvement