Center to Advance Palliative Care

Data has shown that earlier referral to palliative care contributes to cost savings. The savings occur in the following categories: room and board, ancillary costs, pharmacy costs. Therefore, the sooner palliative care gets involved the greater the impact. At VCU and Mt. Carmel we have been able to demonstrate financial cost savings for patients that are directly admitted to an acute palliative care unit or admitted with a consult to palliative care service. Costs of care for patients with later referral to palliative care are more likely to exceed the DRG reimbursement. When patients have been directly admitted to our acute palliative care unit length of stay was approximately 3.5 days. This is the same length of stay for patients that were seen in consult and then transferred to the APCU. The patients seen in consult often have already been in the hospital several days and in ICU or on a telemetry unit. Palliative care plays a significant role in expediting appropriate treatment plan and transitioning to an appropriate level of care. One of the resources on the CAPC website under "Palliative Care Publications" is "The Case for Hospital-Based Palliative Care." I'd encourage you to check it out if you haven't already.

Sharol Herr, RN, MSEd, CHPN
Nurse Clinician/Education Coordinator
Mt. Carmel Health; A CAPC Palliative Care Leadership Center
Columbus, OH