Successfully Increasing Palliative Care Social Work ICU Referrals

Abstract

This case study sought to understand why consistent referrals to a palliative care social worker were not forthcoming in one ICU. In this article, we show how using the Nolan Rapid Cycle Improvement Model and The Geisinger Palliative and Supportive Medicine Consult Tool helped to educate and prompt ICU staff to make palliative care referrals, and lead to an increase in these referrals in the ICU. Medical staff may have been convinced that palliative care is for the dying patient only, which may have prevented appropriate referrals. Physician and nurses' concerns were also elicited and qualitatively analyzed which played a further role in increasing referrals.

KEYWORDS:

• Geisinger Palliative and Supportive Medicine Consult (GPSMC) tool
• intensive care
• palliative care
• Rapid Cycle Improvement Method
• social work referrals