Integrating Palliative Care Consultation Into Inpatient Liver Transplant Evaluations: A Quality Improvement Study

Palliative care (PC) consultation in high-risk patients with liver disease who are undergoing liver transplant (LT) evaluation is underused due to common beliefs that PC would negatively impact a patient's desire for transplant. This population is at risk due to high morbidity, mortality, and negative impact to overall quality of life. A 4-week pilot study was conducted in a transplant surgical intensive care unit at a single academic center to increase PC consultation during inpatient LT evaluation and improve transitions in care. Two Plan, Do, Study, Act quality improvement cycles were subsequently led by the PC nurse practitioner and social worker to increase the effectiveness of this intervention. The first cycle (November 29, 2018, to September 30, 2019) identified the need to increase PC education of intensive care unit nurses and promote interdisciplinary collaboration. The second cycle (October 1, 2019, to June 13, 2022) modified the study protocol to prioritize high-risk patients undergoing inpatient LT evaluation. Palliative care consultation increased by 262.5% from 2018 to 2019, with consults completed on 19% of all patients admitted for inpatient LT evaluations throughout the duration of the quality improvement study. Palliative care consultation on high-risk patients undergoing inpatient LT evaluation is a promising targeted strategy to increase utilization of PC in this population.