Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care: The 4th Edition of the NCP Guidelines (TH360)

Abstract

•Explain the importance of the National Consensus Project (NCP) Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, 4th Edition.•Describe the process of developing the 4th edition of the Guidelines.•Differentiate the 4th edition from the previous edition of the Guidelines. Palliative care has expanded into new settings and is being offered by diverse types of organizations, such as health systems, office practices, cancer centers, dialysis units, home health agencies, hospices, long-term care providers and more. Driven by this tremendous innovation within the field, the National Consensus Project (NCP) Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care were revised and the 4th edition was published fall 2018. The goal of the 4th edition of the Guidelines is to improve access to quality palliative care regardless of setting, diagnosis, prognosis, or age by encouraging organizations and clinicians across the care continuum to integrate palliative care principles and best practices into their routine assessment and care of their patients. The Guidelines formalize and delineate evidence-based processes and practices for the provision of safe and reliable high-quality palliative care for adults and children with serious illness, and their families, in all care settings. Those seeking to develop or expand palliative care can integrate the Guidelines into all aspects of their organization to ensure the highest quality care is provided to all patients and their families. This session will review how the 4th edition of the Guidelines was developed, what changes were made from the 3rd edition, and what the implications are to deliver quality palliative care across settings. In addition, the key findings from the systematic review of the Guidelines that was completed by the RAND Evidence-based Practice Center will be discussed.