Palliative Care in Emergency Departments: Addressing the Needs of Seriously Ill Older Adults

https://www.nccih.nih.gov/research/research-results/palliative-care-in-emergency-departments-addressing-the-needs-of-seriously-ill-older-adults?nav=govd Among people aged 65 and older, half visited the emergency department (ED) in the last month of their lives, and three in four visited the ED during the 6 months before their deaths. However, emergency care has not adapted to meet these patients’ needs, with palliative care teams, present in two-thirds of hospitals, not typically available in EDs for crisis response. A new study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and conducted by researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, and Tibor Rubin Long Beach Veterans Affairs, evaluates the effect of a multicomponent intervention to initiate palliative care in the ED on hospital admission rates for older adults with serious, life-limiting illnesses. This research was supported by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and other components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) within the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory.