Diverse Models of Home-Based Palliative Care: Key Principles from Four Programs for Impact on Quality and Cost (SA522)

Abstract

•Describe the role of home-based palliative care in the continuum of palliative care programs.•Describe the characteristics of diverse successful home-based palliative care models.•Explain the challenges and opportunities of available home-based palliative care models in order to determine which characteristics best align with your community. Not so long ago palliative care was available only through the Medicare hospice benefit for the terminally ill. Now, hospital palliative care is a routine service, especially in larger hospitals that serve the sickest and most complex patients. Yet, we are far from securing relative access to palliative care for our nation's seriously ill patients and their families because the great majority of them are neither dying nor in the hospital. In order to ensure access to palliative care where people need it, we must help communities build palliative care services that go to the patient and their family where they live. Home-based palliative care is the future of quality medical care for the sickest and costliest patients and their families. Several home-based palliative care programs across the country are delivering this service to their patients; they serve as examples for others who want to implement this critical service for seriously ill patients. Panelists in this session will share replicable principles and practices from four pioneering home-based palliative care programs providing services to seriously ill patients in a variety of living situations—including their homes, assisted living residences, skilled nursing facilities, and homeless shelters. At the forefront of community-based palliative care, these programs are leaders in working with payers and in providing innovative, cost-effective approaches to providing quality home-based palliative care. They represent a variety of patient populations, geographic settings, payment models, and organizational homes: a large hospice and palliative care organization; a large home health and hospice organization; an integrated multispecialty clinician group; and a health care system. Program leaders will share how they aligned their programs with the needs and priorities of patients, families, community partners, and program stakeholders, as well as key principles and challenges and opportunities encountered. An interactive Q & A session will follow.