Study Finds a Combination of In-Person and Virtual Palliative Care Eases Symptoms Burden
A multisite cohort study of 3,896 outpatient palliative care patients, published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, found that a combination of in-person and virtual visits led to the largest reductions in symptom burden. In-person-only visits produced moderate improvements, while virtual-only visits were associated with stable symptoms over time, even for patients with moderate-to-severe baseline symptoms. These results suggest that hybrid care leverages the advantages of both modalities, timely access via virtual visits and clinical assessment through in-person care, to optimize symptom management across diverse patient populations, including those with non-English language preferences.