Table 1.
Outpatient Palliative Care Clinic Characteristics
| Site | Site 1a | Site 1b | Site 1c | Site 2 | Site 3 | Site 4 | Site 5 | Site 6 | Site 7 and Site 8 | Site 9 | Site 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standardized assessment tools | |||||||||||
| Symptom | Y (ESAS) | Y (ESAS) | Y (IPOS-Renal) | Y (ESAS) | Y (ESAS) | Y (ESAS) | N | N | Y (ESAS) | Y (ESAS) | N |
| Spiritual | N | N | N | N | Y (FICA) | N | N | N | Y (FICA) | N | N |
| Psychosocial | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
| Functional | Y (PPS) | Y (PPS) | Y (PPS) | Y (PPS) | Y (PPS) | N | N | Y (PPS) | Y (PPS) | Y (PPS) | Y (PPS) |
| Depression | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
| Caregiver | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y (ST) | N | N | N |
| Opioid risk | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Physical clinic model | Embedded | Embedded | Embedded | Embedded | Embedded (cancer); Freestanding (non-cancer) | Freestanding | Embedded | Embedded | Freestanding | Embedded (cancer); Freestanding (non-cancer) | Embedded (thoracic, breast cancer, sarcoma, CHF); Freestanding (other/cancer) |
| Clinical outpatient model | Co-management | Co-management | Co-management | Co-management | Co-management | Co-management | Co-management | Co-management | Co-management | Co-management | Co-management |
| Palliative care team members | |||||||||||
| MD | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| NP | N | N | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | N | Y |
| Chaplain | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | N | Y | Y |
| Social work | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y |
| RN | N | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Psychologist | N | N | N | N | Y | N | Y | Y | N | N | Y |
| Case manager | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | Y | N | Y | N |
| Pharmacist | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | Y |
| PT | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y |
| OT | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Y |
| Other | N | N | N | N | Y (psychiatrist) | N | N | N | N | N | N |
| Wait for new patient appointment | 0–2 weeks | 4–8 weeks | 2–4 weeks | 1–4 weeks | 0–4 weeks | 1 week | 1–2 weeks | 1–2 weeks | 1–2 weeks | 0–1 week | 0–24 hours |
| Length of new patient visit | 60 minutes | 60 minutes | 60 minutes | 60 minutes | 60 minutes | 60 minutes | 60 minutes | 60 minutes | 60 minutes | 60 minutes | 60 minutes |
| Length of follow-up visit | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 30–60 minutes | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | 60 minutes | 30–40 minutes |
| Palliative care diagnoses accepted | |||||||||||
| Cancer | Y | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| CHF | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | N |
| COPD | N | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | N |
| ESRD | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | N |
| Other | N | N | N | N | N | Y (dementia, liver disease) | N | N | N | N | N |
| No. of clinic sessions per week | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 3–6 | 7 | 30–32 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 56 |
CHF, congestive heart failure; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ESAS, Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale; ESRD, end-stage renal disease; FICA, Faith and Belief, Importance, Community, Address in Care Spiritual History Tool; IPOS, Integrated Palliative Outcome Score; MD, medical doctor; NP, nurse practitioner; OT, occupational therapist; PPS, Palliative Performance Scale; PT, physical therapist; RN, registered nurse; ST, stress thermometer.