Patient and Caregiver Perspectives on Communication Quality in Tele-Palliative Care
In an article published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, researchers explored patient and family caregiver experiences with telehealth and in-person visits for outpatient palliative care in a post-pandemic context. Through interviews with twenty-six participants, three themes emerged: participants weighed convenience, symptom burden, and visit reason when choosing the mode of care; there were differing opinions on whether telehealth supported authentic communication; and comfort and privacy influenced quality of communication. Researchers found that telehealth can support high-quality communication and offer meaningful access to outpatient palliative care, and that a hybrid model is helpful in meeting the needs of patients with serious illness, and their family caregivers.