Journal of palliative medicine
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Older adults with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) often have multiple comorbid conditions, a high symptom burden, and limited life expectancy. There is mounting concern that the intensive patterns of care that many of these patients receive at the end of life are discordant with their values and preferences. ⋯ In this article, we identify three broad areas of knowledge deficit where more evidence is needed to support the "best care possible" for this population: (1) what matters most to older adults with advanced CKD and their caregivers near the end of life; (2) how the nephrology community can best support older adults with advanced CKD to navigate complex treatment decisions throughout their illness; and (3) how the healthcare system should be reconfigured to promote patient- and family-centered care for older adults with advanced CKD. Research priorities include identifying opportunities for improving the end-of-life experience of older adults with CKD and their caregivers; developing and testing communication interventions before and during dialysis to ensure that treatment decisions reflect patients' preferences; and assessing the effectiveness of palliative care in improving quality of life for patients and caregivers, satisfaction with care, and aligning treatment decisions with patient goals and preferences.
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In response to poor healthcare quality outcomes and rising costs, healthcare reform triple aim has increased requirements for providers to demonstrate value to payers, partners, and the public. ⋯ The process of constructing the scorecard helped identify areas within both systems for potential improvement in team structure, clinical processes, and outcomes. In addition, by automating data extraction, the scorecard decreases costs associated with manual data entry and extraction, freeing clinical staff to care for patients and increasing the value of PC delivered to patients.
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Research into the key themes and concepts of quality of life (QOL) relevant to the end-of-life (EOL) care of pediatric cancer patients in the Japanese context is imperative. ⋯ Although the respondents in this study were medical care providers rather than the patients or their family members, findings should help medical staff provide better palliative care to Japanese pediatric cancer patients.
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Chronic critical illness (CCI) patients have poor functional outcomes, high risk of mortality, and significant sequelae, including delirium and cognitive dysfunction. The prognostic significance of persistent delirium in patients with CCI has not been well described. ⋯ Further studies of the prevalence and outcomes of prolonged or persistent agitated delirium in patients with chronic critical illness are needed to provide prognostic information that can assist patients and families in receiving care that accords with their goals and values.