Using a values assessment as a bridge to advance care planning: Results of 1286 patient reports.

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (26_suppl) ◽  
pp. 12-12
Author(s):  
John Russell Hoverman ◽  
Cynthia Taniguchi ◽  
Kathryn J Eagye ◽  
Susan Ash-Lee ◽  
Angela Kalisiak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Advance Care Planning ◽  
Metastatic Cancer ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Continuous Variables ◽  
Exact Test ◽  
Patient Reports ◽  
Values Assessment ◽  
Advance Care

12 Background: Recent studies have shown that formal Palliative Care (PC) improves care at the end of life for cancer patients. The role of communication in PC is not defined. Other studies have shown that communication alone can be associated with better end of life outcomes. The US Oncology Network developed and tested a Values Assessment (VA) instrument for routinely broaching difficult topics to facilitate more formal advance care planning (ACP). The results of the first 28 months of the program on over 1200 patients are reported here. Methods: The VA consists of 10 questions of the format “How valuable is it to me to….”, for example “know that I am not a burden to my family, friends or helpers?” Responses were on a 4 point scale from unsure to very valuable. The VA was completed either in person in the clinic or telephonically. VA participation by n = 1286 metastatic cancer patients treated at participating practices from 4/1/2013-7/31/2015 were extracted from the EHR and confirmed by chart review, as were demographic (age, gender, ethnicity), clinical (diagnosis and stage), chemotherapy treatment and outcomes (hospice enrollment and place of death). Demographics and outcomes were compared using the Chi-Squared or Fisher’s Exact Test, or Wilcoxon Rank Sums test for continuous variables. Results: 1268 patients completed the VA. 56.7% were 65 or over. 57.8% went on to complete Advance Directives (AD). 52% had colon or lung cancer. There were 438 deaths of which 431 had a date of last chemotherapy recorded. Of these 431 patients, 78% died at home or inpatient hospice, 14.6% in the hospital. Hospice enrollment with AD was 76.1%, without 60.9%. (p = .008) Median LOS in hospice was 21 days vs. 12.5 (p = .025). Chemotherapy in the last 14 days of life was 7.05% with AD, 13.4% without. The VA was well accepted by patients. Conclusions: A VA as a routine part of practice is feasible and scalable. It can be delivered successfully either face to face or telephonically. It facilitates ACP discussion leading to AD. The results suggest VA and ACP lead to less aggressive care at the end of life.

Use of a computer model and care coaches to increase advance care planning conversations for patients with metastatic cancer.

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (28_suppl) ◽  
pp. 8-8
Author(s):  
Divya Gupta ◽  
Touran Fardeen ◽  
Winifred Teuteberg ◽  
Briththa Seevaratnam ◽  
Mary Khay Asuncion ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Advance Care Planning ◽  
Computer Model ◽  
Metastatic Cancer ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Survival Prognosis ◽  
Advance Care ◽  
Lay Care

8 Background: Patients with metastatic cancer benefit from advance care planning (ACP) conversations. Despite initiatives which train providers to have ACP conversations using the serious illness care program (SICP) conversation guide, few patients have a documented prognosis discussion due to busy clinic schedules and difficulty in deciding the right times to have such conversations. We designed an intervention to improve ACP by incorporating a validated computer model to identify patients at high risk for mortality in combination with lay care coaches. We investigated whether this would improve end of life quality measures. Methods: Four Stanford clinics were included in this pilot; all received SICP training. Two clinics (thoracic and genitourinary) underwent the intervention (computer model + care coach), and two clinics (sarcoma and cutaneous) served as the control. For providers in the intervention, an email was sent every Sunday listing the metastatic cancer patients who would be seen in clinic the following week and a predicted prognosis generated by the model. A lay care coach contacted patients with a predicted survival ≤2 years to have an ACP conversation with them. After, the care coach notified the provider to suggest discussion regarding prognosis with the patient. Criteria for a patient visit to be included in the analysis were: age ≥18, established patient, has sufficient EMR data for computer model, and no prior prognosis documentation. The primary outcome was documentation of prognosis in the ACP form by the end of the week following the clinic visit. Results: 5330 visits in 1298 unique patients met the inclusion criteria. Median age was 67 (range 19-97); 790 male, 508 female. 1970 visits were with patients with ≤2 year predicted survival. Prognosis discussion was documented by providers in the ACP form for 8.1% of intervention visits compared to 0.07% of control visits (p=0.001 in mixed effects model). Of the 1298 unique patients, 84 were deceased by December 2020. 41.7% died in the hospital. 59.5% were enrolled in hospice prior to death, and 19.0% were hospitalized in the ICU ≤14 days prior to death. Of deceased patients with ACP form prognosis documentation, 5.0% had ≥2 hospitalizations in the 30 days before death compared to 23.4% of deceased patients with no prognosis documented (p=0.10). For ≥ 2 ER visits in the 30 days before death, the proportions were 5.0% and 20.3% (p=0.17). Conclusions: This pilot study supports that our intervention is associated with higher rates of prognosis discussions and documentation. There was a trend towards better quality of end of life care as noted by higher rates of hospice enrollment and less intensive care at end of life. These results merit further investigation as a means to improve goal-concordant care and ensure appropriate care for cancer patients at the end of life.

Treatment preferences and advance care planning at end of life: The role of ethnicity and spiritual coping in cancer patients

2005 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gala True ◽  
Etienne J. Phipps ◽  
Leonard E. Braitman ◽  
Tina Harralson ◽  
Diana Harris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Advance Care Planning ◽  
Spiritual Coping ◽  
Treatment Preferences ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Advance Care

Outcomes Associated with End-of-Life Discussions (DRAFT)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masanori Mori
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Advanced Cancer ◽  
Advance Care Planning ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Advanced Cancer Patients ◽  
Advance Care ◽  
Aggressive Care

Physicians and advanced cancer patients are often reluctant to talk about death. They frequently avoid end-of-life discussions (EOLds), although such conversations are essential to initiate advance care planning. In this prospective, a longitudinal multisite cohort study of advanced cancer patients and their informal caregivers, the authors suggested cascading benefits of EOLds between patients and their physicians. In total, 123 of 332 (37.0%) patients reported having EOLds with their physicians at baseline. EOLds were not associated with higher rates of emotional distress or psychiatric disorders. Instead, after propensity-score weighted adjustment, EOLds were associated with less aggressive medical care near death and earlier hospice referrals. Aggressive care was associated with worse patient quality of life and worse bereavement adjustment. These findings may help destigmatize EOLds and assist physicians and patients in initiating such conversations and engaging in advance care planning.

scholarly journals If We Don’t Ask, Our Patients Might Never Tell: The Impact of the Routine Use of a Patient Values Assessment

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. e831-e837 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Russell Hoverman ◽  
Cynthia Taniguchi ◽  
Kathryn Eagye ◽  
Sabrina Mikan ◽  
Angela Kalisiak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
Metastatic Cancer ◽  
Place Of Death ◽  
Continuous Variables ◽  
Exact Test ◽  
Good Communication ◽  
Values Assessment ◽  
Patient Values ◽  
Aggressive Care ◽  
The Impact

Purpose: Good communication can be associated with better end-of-life outcomes. The US Oncology Network developed and tested a Values Assessment (VA) for facilitating advance care planning (ACP). The results of the first 1,268 patients are reported. Methods: The VA consists of 10 questions of the format “How valuable is it to me to…” (eg, “...know that I am not a burden to my family, friends, or helpers?”). Responses were on a four-point scale from unsure to very valuable. VA data on 1,286 patients with metastatic cancer from April 1, 2013, to July 31, 2015, were extracted from the electronic health record, including demographics, diagnosis, stage, chemotherapy, and outcomes (hospice enrollment, place of death). These demographics were compared by using the χ2 or Fisher’s exact test or the Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous variables. Results: A total of 1,268 patients completed the VA (56.7% were ≥ 65 years of age, 57.8% completed advance directives [ADs]). There were 438 deaths of which 308 had a place of death or a hospice enrollment recorded. Of these, 78% died at home or inpatient hospice; 14.6% died in the hospital. Hospice enrollment with ADs was 76.1% and without, 60.9%. Median length of stay in hospice was 21 days with ADs versus 12.5 days without. Chemotherapy in the last 14 days of life was 8.8% with ADs and 15.5% without. The VA was well accepted by patients. Conclusion: A VA as a routine part of practice is feasible and scalable. It facilitates ACP discussions that lead to ADs. The results suggest that VA and ACP lead to less-aggressive care at the end of life.

Advance care planning in metastatic cancer patients: A quality improvement initiative.

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (28_suppl) ◽  
pp. 22-22
Author(s):  
Steven Oppenheim ◽  
Robert A. Figlin ◽  
Edward G. Seferian ◽  
Kevin S. Scher ◽  
Margaret R Reed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Advance Care Planning ◽  
Metastatic Cancer ◽  
Quality Improvement Initiative ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Tumor Boards ◽  
Main Driver ◽  
Icd 10 ◽  
Advance Care ◽  
Improve Access

22 Background: The initiative aimed to increase the rate of advance care planning (ACP) activities for outpatients with metastatic cancer. Methods: The project was sponsored by the institution’s Quality Committee in collaboration with the Cancer Quality Committee, Oncology Division, Tumor Boards, and Medical Group. Metastatic cancer patients were identified by ICD-10 coding and later by oncologist electronic health record (EHR) documentation of metastatic status. ACP activities were defined as either an ACP note, Advance Directive, Physician’s Order for Life Sustaining Therapy, or a palliative medicine (PM) consultation. The EHR was revised to include a section for ACP documentation. Quarterly reports were sent to oncologists with data comparing their rate of ACP activities for patients with metastatic cancer with peers. Oncologists’ identities were initially blinded and later unblinded. Oncologists received a monthly list of their metastatic patients without any ACP activities. Results: The study covered 5201 unique cancer patients cared for by 60 oncologists each year. The rate of ACP activities for metastatic cancer patients increased from 37% in 2017 to 57% at the end of 2020. Data on individual ACP activities are pending analysis. The ACP activities were driven most by PM consultations, which rose from 12% to 39%. Conclusions: This initiative successfully increased ACP activities for patients with metastatic cancer. ACP activities are an essential step to achieve goal concordant care. Given that the main driver of increased ACP activities was PM referrals, further work will be required to strengthen oncologist’s ACP skills and improve access to PM.

scholarly journals ‘It was like taking an inner bath’: A qualitative evaluation of a collaborative advance care planning-approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 026921632110432
Author(s):  
Anna J Pedrosa Carrasco ◽  
Martin Koch ◽  
Teresa Machacek ◽  
Anna Genz ◽  
Svenja Herzog ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Advanced Cancer ◽  
Advance Care Planning ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Relationship Dynamics ◽  
Barriers To Participation ◽  
Planning Approach ◽  
Advance Care

Background: Impaired readiness may hinder purposeful advance care planning in cancer patients. To reduce barriers to participation in end-of-life decision-making, a collaborative intervention was developed combining a psycho-oncological approach of dignity-based and cognitive-behavioural interventions, followed by a standardised advance care planning-process. Aim: To evaluate the novel collaborative advance care planning-approach by synthetising cancer patient and carer perspectives on communicational and relational effects. Design: As a sub-project of a mixed-methods evaluation study, we conducted an inductive content analysis of qualitative interviews with advanced cancer patients and caregivers to deeply explore the focused impact of a collaborative advance care planning-approach on communication and relationship dynamics. Setting/participants: Twelve patients with advanced cancer and 13 carers who participated in a collaborative advance care planning-intervention. Results: The collaborative advance care planning-approach was consistently evaluated positively by participants. Transcriptions of the semi-structured interviews were coded, analysed and merged under three main themes concerning communicational and relationship dynamics: action readiness, content readiness and impact on future communication and relationship. Conclusions: The novel intervention served to foster individual readiness – including action and content readiness – for advance care planning-discussions by addressing highly individualised barriers to participation, as well as specific end-of-life issues. In addition, societal readiness could be promoted. Although the brief psycho-oncological intervention could not fully meet the needs of all participants, it can be used to develop individual psychotherapeutic strategies to improve different facets of readiness. The collaborative advance care planning-approach might require more time and human resources, but could pioneer successful advance care planning.

scholarly journals The Role Complexities in Advance Care Planning for End-of-Life Care—Nursing Students’ Perception of the Nursing Profession

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 6574
Author(s):  
Suet Ying Ng ◽  
Eliza Lai-Yi Wong
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Students ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Advance Care Planning ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Role Clarity ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Exact Test ◽  
Advance Care

Nurses’ perceptions of being responsible for advance care planning (ACP) vary greatly across different studies. It could, however, affect their involvement in advance care planning and patients’ quality of death. Recent studies on this topic have mostly focused on advance directives but not ACP and nurses in the ward setting. This study aimed to assess the perception of Hong Kong nursing undergraduates of the nurse’s role in advance care planning and examine its associations with knowledge, attitude, and experience. A cross-sectional 57-item survey was delivered to nursing undergraduates between June and August 2020. The chi-squared test or Fisher’s exact test were used for univariate analysis. The multiple logistic regression model was used for multivariate analysis. A total of 469 participants were assessed for eligibility; 242 of them were included in the data analysis, with a response rate of 97.6%. The majority of respondents—77.3% (95% CI: 72.0–82.6%)—perceived having a role in ACP, but large discrepancies were found between their perception of their role regarding different aspects of ACP. Participants who had a better knowledge status (p = 0.029) or supported the use of ACP (p < 0.001) were more likely to have a positive perception of their role in ACP. A negative correlation was found between the experience of life threat and positive role perception (p < 0.001). Through strengthening training, the role clarity of nursing undergraduates could be achieved, maximizing their cooperation with and implementation of ACP in their future nursing career. The enhancement of end-of-life education could also be undertaken to fill nursing undergraduates’ knowledge gap in this area and change their attitudes.

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