Journal of oncology practice
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Integrated into routine oncology care, palliative care can improve symptom burden, quality of life, and patient and caregiver satisfaction. However, not all oncology practices have access to specialist palliative medicine. This project endeavored to define what constitutes high-quality primary palliative care as delivered by medical oncology practices. ⋯ This statement describes the elements comprising high-quality primary palliative care for patients with advanced cancer or high symptom burden, as delivered by oncology practices. Oncology providers wishing to enhance palliative care delivery may find this information useful to inform operational changes and quality improvement efforts.
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We aimed to improve the time to antibiotics (TTA) for patients treated with chemotherapy who present to the emergency department (ED) with febrile neutropenia (FN) by using standardized fever advisory cards (FACs). ⋯ The distribution of FACs was associated with an improved incidence of correct FN triaging but did not demonstrate a meaningful improvement in the quality of FN management. This may be explained by FAC use among patients not being ideal. Next steps in the continued effort toward high-quality FN care include redesign of FACs, reinforcement of provider and patient education, and ED outreach.