Palliative Care Improves Outcomes in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)
A quality improvement study published as an abstract in Blood and further described in an HCPLive report evaluated the integration of palliative care into the Cleveland Clinic’s Sickle Cell Medical Neighborhood, including inpatient consult triggers, outpatient follow-up, and individualized care plans. The intervention was associated with a substantial reduction in hospital length of stay for adults with sickle cell disease, along with improvements in outpatient pain management and a slight decrease in hospitalization rates. Together, the findings suggest that coordinated, interdisciplinary care may improve health care utilization and pain management for this population.