Journal of palliative medicine
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
The Act of Consoling Helps Those Who Console: A Multicenter Observational Survey Study in Hospice Services.
Background: The contemporary scientific literature documents a lack of attention toward the act of consoling put into practice by health care professionals (HCPs) in hospice services. Objective: To describe the act of consoling and its meaning for hospice-employed HCPs. Design: A multicenter observational survey study was performed through a paper-based questionnaire. ⋯ The results showed that most HCPs consider the practice of consoling to be essential to their profession, but they also underscored the extreme complexity of the process. Conclusion: The act of consoling is not simply a professional duty defined in contractual clauses. Rather, it is a set of specific communicative practices and skills required of HCPs.
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Multicenter Study
A Yet Unrealized Promise: Structured Advance Care Planning Elements in the Electronic Health Record.
Background: Electronic health records (EHRs) may help enable reliable, rapid data management for many uses, such as facilitating communication of advance care planning (ACP). However, issues with validity and accuracy of EHRs hinder the use of ACP information for practical applications. Design: We present a cross-sectional pilot study of 433 older adults with cancer from three large health care systems, participating in an ongoing multisite pragmatic trial (4UH3AG060626-02). ⋯ Conclusion: Structured ACP data in EHRs were frequently incorrect. This represents a problem for patients and their families, as well as quality improvement and research efforts. Clinical Trials Registration: NCT03609177.