The impact of code status simplification on end-of-life health care choices in gynecologic oncology

2020 ◽  
Vol 159 ◽  
pp. 287-288
Author(s):  
S.A. Ostby ◽  
J.A. Wall ◽  
M. Page ◽  
J.M. Straughn ◽  
H.J. Smith
2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 820-824 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis O. Chavez ◽  
Sharon Einav ◽  
Joseph Varon

Purpose: To investigate how a terminal illness may affect the health-care providers’ resuscitation preferences. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in 9 health-care institutions located in 4 geographical regions in North and Central America, investigating attitudes toward end-of-life practices in health-care providers. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics and χ2 test for the presence of associations ( P < 0.05 being significant) and Cramer V for the strength of the association. The main outcome measured the correlation between the respondents’ present code status and their preference for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in case of terminal illness. Results: A total of 852 surveys were completed. Among the respondents, 21% (n = 180) were physicians, 36.9% (n = 317) were nurses, 10.5% (n = 90) were medical students, and 265 participants were other staff members of the institutions. Most respondents (58.3%; n = 500) desired “definitely full code” (physicians 73.2%; n = 131), only 13.8% of the respondents (physicians 8.33%; n = 15) desired “definitely no code” or “partial support,” and 20.9% of the respondents (n = 179; among physicians 18.4%; n = 33) had never considered their code status. There was an association between current code status and resuscitation preference in case of terminal illness ( P < .001), but this association was overall quite weak (Cramer V = 0.180). Subgroup analysis revealed no association between current code status and terminal illness code preference among physicians ( P = .290) and nurses ( P = .316), whereupon other hospital workers were more consistent ( P < .01, Cramer V = .291). Conclusion: Doctors and nurses have different end-of-life preferences than other hospital workers. Their desire to undergo CPR may change when facing a terminal illness.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (29_suppl) ◽  
pp. 155-155
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ann Kvale ◽  
Gabrielle Rocque ◽  
Kerri S. Bevis ◽  
Aras Acemgil ◽  
Richard A. Taylor ◽  
...  

155 Background: Healthcare utilization and costs escalate near diagnosis and in the final months of life. There is a national trend toward aggressive care at end of life (EOL). We examined patterns in utilization and cost across the trajectory of care and during the last two weeks of life during implementation of a lay navigation intervention. Methods: Claims data were obtained for Medicare beneficiaries ≥ 65 years old with cancer in the UAB Health System Cancer Community Network (UAB CCN). For 10 quarters from January 2012 -June 2014, we examined healthcare utilization for the population at large, navigated patients, and decedents. All analyses included ER visits, hospitalizations, and ICU admissions and use of chemotherapy in the last 2 weeks of life, and hospice utilization (admission or less than 3 days of hospice) in the quarter of death for decedents. Descriptive analyses and linear regression were used to test trends over time; general linear models evaluated changes in health care utilization and cost. Results: Across the population reduction of 13.4% to 11% for hospitalization (18% decrease, p < 0.01), 8.0% to 7.1% for ER visits (12% decrease, p < 0.01), 2.9% to 2.5% for ICU admissions (14% decrease, p = 0.04) and an increase of 3.9% to 4.3% for hospice (9.2% increase p = 0.37) were found. Among 5,861 decedents, in the last 2 weeks of life, there were decreases in ICU admissions (14.6% decrease, p = 0.11), from 39.2% to 32.0%, ER visits (18.4% decrease, p = 0.03), and chemotherapy, from 4.7% to 3.5% (25.5% decrease, p = 0.11).Over the 10 quarters, hospice enrollment increased from 70.7% to 77.4% (9.48% increase; p = 0.06), and the proportion of patients on hospice for less than 3 days changed from 7.8% to 7.5% (3.85% decrease, p = 0.30). Costs decreased about $158 per quarter per beneficiary. A significant pre-post decrease of $952 per beneficiary (p < 0.01) led to an estimated reduction in Medicare costs of $18,406,920 for the 19,335 beneficiaries in the UAB CCN for the five quarters post-implementation. Conclusions: We observed decreased healthcare utilization and cost and trends toward decreased aggressive care at EOL in the UAB CCN. Further work is needed to determine the impact of navigation on utilization trends.


Author(s):  
Linda L. Emanuel ◽  
Rebecca Johnson

Truth telling and informed consent are relatively recently established legal and ethical norms in end-of-life health care. This chapter provides an exploratory guide to the evolution of both norms, highlighting some of the benefits, problems, and issues associated with both terms. It also presents a selection of the stepwise protocols and practices which Western medicine has developed in order to deliver patient-centred palliative care which comforts and relieves. In addition, the chapter discusses the impact that constant adjustment to loss can have on patient psychology and decision-making in end-of-life care scenarios and the value of framing that experience in terms of continuous reintegration. Finally, the chapter discusses the lessons which can be learned from the contested place of family within health-care systems where decision-making depends on truth telling and informed consent, and the lessons which can be learned from familism across the globe.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Lippe ◽  
Alexandra Stanley ◽  
Allison Ricamato ◽  
Anne Halli-Tierney ◽  
Robert McKinney

Effective team communication is necessary for the provision of high-quality health care. Yet, recent graduates from diverse health-care disciplines report inadequate training in communication skills and end-of-life care. This study explored the impact of a withdrawal of life-sustaining measures interprofessional simulation on team communication skills of students representing medicine, nursing, and social work. The 3-phase simulation required teams to communicate with the patient, family, and one another in the care of a seriously ill patient at the end of life. Team communication in the filmed simulations was analyzed via the Gap-Kalamazoo Communication Checklist. Results revealed fair to good communication across the 9 communication domains. Overall team communication was strongest in “shares information” and lowest in “understands the patient’s and family’s perspective” domains. Field notes revealed 5 primary themes— Team Dynamics, Awkwardness, Empathy is Everything, Build a Relationship, and Communicating Knowledge When You Have It—in the course of the data analysis. Logistical challenges encountered in simulation development and implementation are presented, along with proposed solutions that were effective for this study. This simulation provided an opportunity for interprofessional health-care provider students to learn team communication skills within an end-of-life care context.


Author(s):  
Neela K. Patel ◽  
Stacey A. Passalacqua ◽  
Kylie N. Meyer ◽  
Gabriel A. de Erausquin

Background: Palliative care and hospice services are disproportionately underutilized by ethnic minority patients. Addressing barriers to utilization of these services is critical to reducing disparities. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a culturally adapted palliative care consultation service for Hispanics on end-of-life decisions, specifically likelihood of changing from full code to do-not-resuscitate (DNR) status during index admission for serious illness. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was applied to data extracted from electronic health records (EHR) of patients seen by a Geriatric Palliative Care service during inpatient stays between 2018 and 2019. The majority of referrals came from critical care sites. Culturally adapted palliative care consultations using the SPIKES tool featured a Spanish-speaking team member leading discussions, involvement of multiple and key family members, and a chaplain who is a Catholic Priest. Results: The analytic sample included 351 patients who were, on average, 72 years old. 54.42% were female, 59.54% were Hispanic, and of Hispanic patients, 47.37% spoke primarily Spanish. Culturally adapted consults resulted in higher rates of conversion to DNR status in palliative cases of the target population. Both primary language and ethnicity were associated with likelihood of change from full code to DNR status, such that Spanish speakers and those of Hispanic ethnicity were more likely to switch to DNR than non-Hispanics and English-Speakers. Conclusion: This study illustrates how culturally adapted palliative care consultations can help reduce barriers and improve end-of-life decision-making, and can be applied with similar populations of seriously ill Hispanic patients.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sang Yoon Na, BS, MS ◽  
James E. Slaven, MS ◽  
Emily S. Burke, BA ◽  
Alexia M. Torke, MD, MS

Background and Hypothesis: Studies have shown African American patients are more likely to prefer aggressive life-sustaining treatments such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at end-of-life compared to non-Hispanic White patients. Given prior racial disparities in healthcare, low trust has been proposed to explain these preferences. We examined factors that influence surrogate decision makers’ preference for Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) status for hospitalized older adults who cannot make their own medical decisions. We explored whether race is associated with surrogate preference for DNR status for a hospitalized older adult. We also examine if race is associated with distrust and if the race/code status relationship is partially explained (mediated) by distrust in the healthcare system. Experimental Design or Project Methods: Analyses were conducted using data from an observational study of patient/surrogate dyads admitted to an ICU in a Midwest metropolitan area. Distrust was assessed using the Revised Health Care System Distrust Scale. A single item asked the surrogate which status they thought was best for the patient, full code or DNR. Results: In bivariate analysis, higher proportion of African American surrogates showed preference for full code (62.4% vs 37.6%, p=0.0001). After adjusting for trust and sociodemographic and psychological covariates, race was still significantly associated with DNR preference (aOR = 1.92; 95% CI: 1.04, 3.55; p=0.0382). Surrogate race did not show significant association with distrust in bivariate or multivariable analysis, which adjusted for sociodemographic and psychological covariates (p=0.3867). Conclusion and Potential Impact: Contrary to previous studies, we observed no association between surrogate race and distrust of the health care system. Differences in code status preference may be due to other factors related to race and culture. In order to ensure patients are receiving end-of-life care that is consistent with their values, more work is needed to understand the cultural complexities behind end-of-life care preference.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 12032-12032
Author(s):  
Katherine Hicks-Courant ◽  
Genevieve P. Kanter ◽  
Marilyn M. Schapira ◽  
Colleen Brensinger ◽  
Qing Liu ◽  
...  

12032 Background: The impact of primary oncologist specialty, medical oncology (MO) versus gynecologic oncology (GO), on intensity of care at the end of life (EOL) in elderly patients with gynecologic cancer is unclear. Methods: This retrospective cohort study used Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Medicare data. Subjects were fee-for-service Medicare enrollees over 65 years old, who had seen a GO or MO in an outpatient setting in the last year of life and died of a gynecologic cancer between 2006 and 2015. The primary oncologist was defined as the provider with the majority of outpatient visits in the last year of life. The primary outcome was intensity of care at the EOL, a composite score defined by receipt of chemotherapy in the last 14 days of life, death in the hospital, enrollment in hospice for less than three days, more than one ED visit, more than one hospital admission, spending more than 14 days in the hospital, or any ICU admission in the last 30 days of life. Simple and multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate for differences in EOL care outcomes by primary oncologist specialty. Linear regressions were repeated after creating a more similar control group through nearest-neighbor propensity score matching, with and without replacement. Results: Of 12,189 subjects, 63% were primarily treated by a MO and only 27% by a GO for EOL care. Most died of ovarian cancer (55.1%), followed by uterine (31.4%), cervical (6.9%), and other cancers (6.7%). Compared to GO patients, MO patients were younger, more likely to be white, married, not dual-eligible, higher stage, and to die of ovarian cancer. Overall, 55.4% (95% CI 54.73-56.49) received intense care at the EOL. Although both specialties engaged in high levels of intense EOL care, the adjusted rates for GO (54.03%; 95% CI 52.28-55.77) were significantly less compared to MO (56.53%; 95% CI 55.36-57.69; p=0.023) in unadjusted and adjusted analyses of the entire and propensity-matched cohorts (Table). Conclusions: Approximately 2/3 of women with gynecologic cancer will receive EOL care from a MO, compared to 1/3 from a GO. Both specialists engage in high levels of intense EOL care in over half of their patients, although GO less so. Future work should focus on identifying approaches to reduce high-intensity EOL care, which may include additional training or incorporation of palliative medicine into cancer care.[Table: see text]


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Fernando Kawai ◽  
Cynthia X. Pan ◽  
John Zaravinos ◽  
Min Min Maw ◽  
Gary Lee

Abstract Background Hispanics often have disparities at the end of life. They are more likely to die full code and less likely to have discussions regarding prognosis and do not resuscitate (DNR)/do not intubate (DNI), despite studies showing Hispanic values comfort over the extension of life. Barriers to patient-centered care include language,socioeconomic status and health literacy. Context We evaluated the impact of palliative care (PC) consults on the change of code status and hospice referrals, comparing seriously ill Hispanic and non-Hispanic white patients. Method A retrospective cohort study of all white and Hispanic patients referred to the PC service of a county hospital from 2006 to 2012. We evaluated ethnicity, language, code status at admission and after PC consult, and hospice discharge. Chi-squared tests were used to analyze characteristics among three groups: non-Hispanic white, English-speaking Hispanic, and Spanish-speaking Hispanic patients. Results Of 925 patients, 511 (55%) were non-Hispanic white, 208 (23%) were English-speaking Hispanic, and 206 (22%) were Spanish-speaking Hispanic patients. On admission, there was no statistically significant difference in code status among the three groups (57%, 64%, and 59% were full code, respectively, p = 0.5). After PC consults, Spanish-speaking Hispanic patients were more likely to change their code status to DNR/DNI when compared with non-Hispanic white and English-speaking Hispanic patients (44% vs. 32% vs. 28%, p = 0.05). Spanish-speaking Hispanic patients were more likely to be discharged to hospice when compared with English-speaking Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites (33%, 29%, and 23%, respectively, p = 0.04). Significance of results Spanish-speaking Hispanic patients were more likely to change from full code to DNR/DNI compared with non-Hispanic white and English-speaking Hispanic patients, despite similar code status preferences on admission. They were also more likely to be discharged to hospice. PC consults may play an important role in helping patients to align their care with their values and may prevent unwanted aggressive interventions at the end of life.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document