Journal of social work in end-of-life & palliative care
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J Soc Work End Life Palliat Care · Oct 2017
Developing a Palliative Radiation Oncology Service Line: The Integration of Advance Care Planning in Subspecialty Oncologic Care.
Within radiation oncology, there is often minimal attention on radiotherapy with palliative benefits due to the overlying focus on curative treatments. Historically at the University of Pennsylvania, advanced-stage patients are cared for by cancer site-specific teams rather than a more rapid treatment service model that focuses on patients' symptom needs and larger clinical issues within a palliative framework. Thus, the University of Pennsylvania created a designated palliative radiation oncology team to focus on the complex medical and relational issues of metastatic cancer patients. ⋯ A retrospective analysis of 26 palliative radiation oncology patients under treatment between February and August 2016 was conducted. Of these patients treated with palliative radiation, 19% completed an advance directive after the social work intervention. This model highlights advance care planning as a best practice and encourages end-of-life discussions as a routine part of the oncology workflow.