[(Early) Palliative Care in Emergency Medicine]

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Palliative Care
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Patients with life-limiting illnesses frequently use emergency departments (EDs).
• EDs often lack sufficient time to address palliative care (PC) needs.
• Most patients prefer to die at home, necessitating better end-of-life care coordination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the integration of palliative care into the emergency department setting.
• To evaluate the benefits of early PC integration for patients nearing end of life.
• To assess the utility of screening tools for identifying PC needs in the ED.

Main Methods:

• Review of current practices in emergency departments regarding end-of-life care.
• Analysis of outpatient models involving prehospital services, general practitioners, and specialized PC teams.
• Introduction and potential application of screening tools, such as the Palliative Care and Rapid Emergency Screening (P-CaRES) tool.

Main Results:

• Integrating PC into EDs can improve patient treatment and outcomes.
• Outpatient collaboration facilitates home deaths, aligning with patient preferences.
• Early PC integration can shorten hospital stays and increase PC consultations.
• Screening for PC needs in the ED can prevent unmet needs and standardize consultations.

Conclusions:

• Palliative care integration into emergency departments is a viable strategy to enhance end-of-life care.
• Coordinated outpatient care models support patient preference for dying at home.
• Screening tools like P-CaRES are valuable for identifying and addressing palliative care needs proactively.