While palliative care is offered at most hospitals, with growing consensus it can improve the quality of life for seriously ill patients, few facilities have the staff needed to effectively carry out these programs.
According to Kaiser Health News, a recent study in Health Affairs showed only 25 percent of palliative care programs studied met the Joint Commission’s funded staffing standards. The recommended team in these programs is a physician, an advanced practice or registered nurse, a social worker and a chaplain. Hospitals aren’t required to maintain a palliative care staffing standard to keep accreditation.
“The hope is to shine a light on the gap in what everyone agrees is the [staffing] standard. If we’re invested in improving the quality of care, this is what it will take, said Diane Meier, MD, professor of geriatrics and palliative medicine at the School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York and director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care.
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John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.