Center to Advance Palliative Care

Great question. I do not have a definitive answer for you, but will say that the usual guidelines for determining appropriate acuity of care would apply to patients who are receiving palliative care. I’m guessing that by “only receiving palliative care” you mean that palliation, vs curative care, is the main focus of the treatment episode. Effective palliation may require services that can only be provided in an acute care facility, so by no means does receiving palliative care preclude transfer to the acute care setting – it depends on what the patient needs for symptoms to be controlled. Hope that helps. Kathleen Kerr, Senior Analyst, University of California San Francisco, Palliative Care Leadership Center