AACN Spotlights Innovative Tool for Palliative Care Consultations

The 'Critical Care Nurse' journal, a publication of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), has featured a compelling study on a resourceful tool designed to streamline palliative care referrals. Crafted by a dedicated nurse practitioner, this tool represents a significant advancement in the practice of critical care.

Palliative Care Tools Impactful Scoring System 

At the core of this tool is a straightforward yet powerful scoring system. It evaluates 12 comorbidities and seven contributing factors, assigning points to each to determine the need for palliative care. Particularly weighty are points attributed to recent ICU stays within three months or hospital readmissions within the last 30 days. When a patient's score reaches four or more, an automatic referral for a palliative care consult is initiated, promising earlier and potentially more effective interventions.

Tailoring Interventions to Patient Needs

By empowering nurses to quickly identify patients who would benefit from palliative care, this scoring system ensures that care interventions are timely and targeted. It's automatic trigger feature eliminates delays, effectively closing the gap between recognizing patient needs and providing specialized palliative care.

Palliative Care Screening Tool Study Results

In examining 267 medical ICU records, the study found that traditional referral methods led to 31 palliative care referrals with an average delay of six days. Conversely, the screening tool indicated 59 patients could have been referred earlier. This was especially significant for those discharged to skilled nursing facilities, where the tool suggested a greater need for consultations than were performed. While acknowledging its single-setting limitation and the retrospective nature of the analysis, the study provides valuable insights for enhancing early palliative care intervention.

AACN's Vision for Improved Care Outcomes

Through this study's publication, AACN highlights the essential role of innovative tools in improving patient outcomes. This screening system simplifies the admission process and stands to be transformative, ensuring that critically ill patients receive the timely and comforting care they need.

Palliative Screening Tool Information:

• Integrating Palliative Care Screening in the Intensive Care Unit: A Quality Improvement Project
• Tool Simplifies Requests for Palliative Care Consults

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has been a leader in acute and critical care nursing for over 50 years and is the largest nursing organization specializing in this field, with about 130,000 members and nearly 200 chapters throughout the U.S. The organization is committed to shaping a healthcare system that is responsive to the needs of patients and their families.