A Research Agenda for High-Value Palliative Care
Authors: Katherine R. Courtright, J. Brian Cassel, Scott D. Halpern
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2017)

Ideas and Opinions2 January 2018A Research Agenda for High-Value Palliative CareKatherine R. Courtright, MD, MS, J. Brian Cassel, PhD, and Scott D. Halpern, MD, PhDKatherine R. Courtright, MD, MSPerelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (K.R.C., S.D.H.), J. Brian Cassel, PhDVirginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia (J.B.C.), and Scott D. Halpern, MD, PhDPerelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (K.R.C., S.D.H.)Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M17-2164 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Palliative care has catapulted from being misunderstood and viewed cautiously by many clinicians to being among the most sought-after services by health care systems nationwide. This is the greatest possible testimony to the field's potential value. However, because demand has quickly outstripped the supply of palliative care specialists (1), the field's ability to sustainably provide high-value care is paradoxically threatened by its own success. We propose a research agenda organized around 5 key questions on the optimal organization and allocation of limited resources in specialty palliative care to close the gap between the workforce and patient need. The Table provides ...References1. Lupu D; American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Workforce Task Force. Estimate of current hospice and palliative medicine physician workforce shortage. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2010;40:899-911. [PMID: 21145468] doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.07.004 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Kavalieratos D, Corbelli J, Zhang D, Dionne-Odom JN, Ernecoff NC, Hanmer J, et al. Association between palliative care and patient and caregiver outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2016;316:2104-2114. 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[PMID: 26864410] doi:10.1001/jama.2016.0275 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. Gardiner C, Ingleton C, Ryan T, Ward S, Gott M. What cost components are relevant for economic evaluations of palliative care, and what approaches are used to measure these costs? A systematic review. Palliat Med. 2017;31:323-337. [PMID: 27670418] doi:10.1177/0269216316670287 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (K.R.C., S.D.H.)Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia (J.B.C.)Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M17-2164.Corresponding Author: Katherine R. Courtright, MD, MS, 5048 Gates Building, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104; e-mail, katherine.[email protected]upenn.edu.Current Author Addresses: Dr. Courtright: 5048 Gates Building, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104.Dr. Cassel: 1101 East Marshall Street, Sanger Hall Suite 6030, Box 980230, Richmond, VA 23298.Dr. Halpern: 726 Blockley Hall, 423 Guardian Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19104.Author Contributions: Conception and design: K.R. Courtright, J.B. Cassel, S.D. Halpern.Analysis and interpretation of the data: S.D. Halpern.Drafting of the article: K.R. Courtright, J.B. Cassel.Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content: K.R. Courtright, J.B. Cassel, S.D. Halpern.Final approval of the article: K.R. Courtright, J.B. Cassel, S.D. Halpern.Collection and assembly of data: S.D. Halpern.This article was published at Annals.org on 14 November 2017. 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