Identifying Patients in Need of Goals of Care Conversations: Reliability, Acceptability, and Prognostic Significance of the Preference-Aligned Communication and Treatment Conversation Trigger Tool for Patients with Cancer

Lauren Chiec*, Eytan Szmuilowicz, Jayson Neagle, Katie Clepp, Gordon J. Wood

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Simple methods to help teams identify patients with goals of care (GOC) conversation needs are lacking. Objectives: To develop a tool to identify hospitalized patients who may benefit from GOC conversations. Methods: The Preference-Aligned Communication and Treatment (PACT) Conversation Trigger Tool was implemented as part of a quality improvement initiative in 10 Illinois hospitals and validated in a cohort of patients admitted to the coordinating site's oncology unit (n = 135). Results: The tool was reliable and acceptable to clinicians using it across sites. Thirty percent (n = 40) of patients screened at the coordinating site's oncology unit triggered positive. These patients were more likely to have a do-not-resuscitate order (43% vs. 11%) and palliative care consult (53% vs. 20%) and had lower mean survival time (125 vs. 248 days) than those who did not trigger (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The tool is reliable, acceptable, and can identify hospitalized oncology patients who may benefit from GOC conversations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1249-1253
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of palliative medicine
Volume25
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2022

Keywords

  • goals of care
  • hospital oncology service
  • palliative care
  • prognosis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Nursing(all)
  • Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine

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