A Beacon for Dark Times: Palliative Care Support During the Coronavirus Pandemic
With an existing shortage of palliative care specialists, the surge of COVID-19 cases in New York City required rapid expansion of palliative care services, particularly to emergency departments. In response, the team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City quickly designed, deployed, and revised in real time an innovative telephonic support line to meet the palliative care needs of clinicians and patients during the COVID-19 surge. In this NEJM Catalyst article, authors Claire K. Ankuda, MD, MPH, Christopher D. Woodrell, MD, Diane E. Meier, MD, R. Sean Morrison, MD and Emily Chai, MD describe key principles and lessons learned from this process.