A review of the trials which examine early integration of outpatient and home palliative care for patients with serious illnesses.

Palliative care has emerged as care that specifically aims to address gaps inherent in disease-centered approaches in order to enhance care quality in serious illness, both for patients and families and for health care systems. Late palliative care for patients with serious illness mitigates benefits to patients, families, and health care systems. Efforts have been made by investigators to define the impact of earlier palliative care interventions on patient, family and health care systems outcomes. We conducted a systematic review of randomized trials of outpatient and home palliative care, two locations where earlier palliative care do occur, to examine the evidence for palliative care benefits.