The Priority List: An Evidence-Based Approach to Selecting Patients for Chaplain Visits

Abstract

This paper examines three methods chaplains have historically used to identify patients they should see: rounding, referral, and protocol-based systems. Mercy Health is in the initial stages of adopting an expanded protocol-based system known as “the priority list.” Central to the idea is the proposal and testing of clinical indicators that patients would benefit from chaplain support. Practical steps are offered for other pastoral departments in the development, implementation, and interpretation of their own lists.