Joining Forces: The Addition of a Palliative Care Practitioner to a Resident Teaching Service During COVID-19 Pandemic as a Tool to Improve Patient Care and Provider Communication

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an array of novel issues for hospitals and their staff, 1 of the most noted being increased patient isolation due to visitation restrictions. This has created new challenges for health care systems and their workers. To leverage the expertise of Palliative Care Practitioners (PCP) as described here to improve patient/provider communication, patient experience, and quality of care during the COVID-19 pandemic. To address these new obstacles to patient care presented by the pandemic, a PCP was incorporated into the physician team caring for COVID-19 patients at the time of admission. Members of the care team were surveyed and interviewed regarding their experiences with this added support. During a period of peak hospital strain from COVID-19, team members consistently reported that daily PCP involvement led to improvement in communication with patients and families, greater provider awareness of psychosocial stressors, and decreased physician burnout. Integration of a PCP into a clinical care team during the COVID-19 pandemic was perceived as a valuable asset to patients, families, and clinicians.