Palliative social work in the emergency department

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Palliative Care
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Seriously ill patients and families often access emergency departments (EDs) for symptom distress, care goal changes, or end-of-life care.
• There is a growing need to integrate palliative care principles and services within the emergency medicine setting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the partnership between palliative care and emergency medicine to enhance care for patients with life-limiting illnesses.
• To present a social work model for identifying and addressing palliative care needs in the ED.
• To highlight the role of social workers in providing psychosocial interventions in the ED.

Main Methods:

• The study outlines a collaborative approach between palliative care and emergency medicine departments.
• A social work model is detailed for patient identification and intervention within the ED.
• Psychosocial interventions provided by palliative social workers are described.

Main Results:

• Partnerships between palliative care and emergency medicine can improve care for patients with life-threatening illnesses.
• Social workers can effectively identify and address unmet palliative care needs in the ED.
• Early palliative care consults initiated in the ED can benefit patients and families.

Conclusions:

• Palliative and emergency medicine departments are increasingly partnering to improve care for critically ill patients.
• Social workers are integral to the success of these integrated palliative care initiatives in the ED.
• This collaboration offers a significant opportunity to advance palliative care delivery at the earliest stages of critical illness.