The development of a palliative care program for managed care patients: a case example.

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care Medicine
• Healthcare Management
• Outpatient Services

Background:

• Palliative care is a growing medical field.
• Existing palliative care programs are primarily hospital-based.
• Limited information exists on developing outpatient palliative care, especially for managed care populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a framework for establishing a comprehensive palliative care program within a large multispecialty group practice.
• To address the unique challenges of serving managed care patients in an outpatient setting.

Main Methods:

• Outlined guiding principles for program development.
• Emphasized the importance of collecting baseline data.
• Described the establishment of a clinical consultation service.
• Detailed the creation of outcomes measures.
• Reported on the current program status.

Main Results:

• Five key themes were identified as critical for successful program development.
• Close collaboration between administrative and clinical staff emerged as the most significant factor.
• The framework addressed all stages from initial planning to ongoing program management.

Conclusions:

• A collaborative approach is essential for developing effective outpatient palliative care programs.
• The proposed framework offers a scalable model for multispecialty practices serving managed care populations.
• Further research can build upon this model to expand palliative care access.