Integration of Pediatric Palliative Care Is Associated with Increased Utilization in a Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Clinic

Background: Initiation of palliative care results in improved symptom management, quality of life, and survival among patients with cancer. Despite this, there are often barriers to integration of pediatric palliative care into pediatric oncology practices. The goal of this study was to determine whether an integrated pediatric palliative oncology care model was associated with increased utilization of palliative care services in a pediatric hematology-oncology department.

Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of palliative care consultations in our division of pediatric hematology and oncology. We compared the number of palliative care referrals prior to and after establishment of an embedded palliative care program in our hematology-oncology practice.

Results: Our palliative care service saw an average of 2.33 new pediatric hematology and/or oncology consults per month in a 12 month span prior to embedding palliative care services in the pediatric hematology-oncology department. After our integrated pediatric palliative hematology and oncology model was established, our palliative care service saw an average of 3.9 new pediatric hematology and/or oncology consults per month.

Conclusion: After starting an embedded palliative care program in our pediatric hematology and oncology clinic, pediatric referrals increased 67.4%.