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Behavioral Intervention

Palliative Care Models for Critical Condition

N/A
Recruiting
Led By Scott Halpern, MD, PhD
Research Sponsored by University of Pennsylvania
Eligibility Criteria Checklist
Specific guidelines that determine who can or cannot participate in a clinical trial
Must have
* Age 18 years of age or older;
Be older than 18 years old
Timeline
Screening 3 weeks
Treatment Varies
Follow Up enrollment - 3 months post-discharge
Awards & highlights
No Placebo-Only Group

Summary

This trial aims to test the feasibility of providing palliative care to seriously ill patients in hospitals. The study involves enrolling 540 patients who have a high risk of dying within a year. The hospitals

Who is the study for?
This trial is for seriously ill hospitalized patients aged 18 or older, admitted to one of the study hospitals with a predicted mortality risk of at least 60% within the next year. It aims to improve their quality of life through palliative care.
What is being tested?
The study compares three approaches: usual care without specific PC training, generalist PC where hospital staff are trained online in palliative care, and specialist PC provided by experts. The goal is to see which model works best for patient support.
What are the potential side effects?
Since this trial focuses on models of care rather than medications, it does not have typical drug side effects. However, there may be differences in comfort levels or psychological impact based on the type of palliative care received.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

You may be eligible if you check “Yes” for the criteria below
Select...
I am 18 years old or older.

Timeline

Screening ~ 3 weeks
Treatment ~ Varies
Follow Up ~enrollment - 3 months post-discharge
This trial's timeline: 3 weeks for screening, Varies for treatment, and enrollment - 3 months post-discharge for reporting.

Treatment Details

Study Objectives

Study objectives can provide a clearer picture of what you can expect from a treatment.
Primary study objectives
Appropriate Firings of All Our Practice Advisory (OPA) Interventions
Secondary study objectives
Default Specialist PC Consults
Default Specialist PC Order Cancellation Rate
Generalist PC Domain Completion
+4 more

Awards & Highlights

No Placebo-Only Group
All patients enrolled in this study will receive some form of active treatment.

Trial Design

3Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Active Control
Group I: Trained Generalist Palliative CareExperimental Treatment2 Interventions
Generalist clinicians trained in PC domains receive an EHR-based alert to document whether or not they have addressed PC domains for moderately high-risk patients ('accountable justification intervention'). A specialist PC consult is ordered by default for the highest-risk patients unless clinicians cancel the order.
Group II: Specialist Palliative CareExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
A specialist PC consult is ordered by default for all patients with a ≥ 60% 1-year mortality risk ('default order intervention'), unless clinicians cancel the order.
Group III: Standardized Usual CareActive Control1 Intervention
Active control group, where moderately high-risk patients (e.g., with a 1-year mortality risk between 60% and 94%) will receive usual care. A specialist PC consult is ordered by default for the highest-risk patients (i.e., 1-year mortality risk ≥ 95%), unless clinicians cancel the order.

Find a Location

Who is running the clinical trial?

University of PennsylvaniaLead Sponsor
2,084 Previous Clinical Trials
42,725,993 Total Patients Enrolled
Duke Clinical Research InstituteOTHER
67 Previous Clinical Trials
241,872 Total Patients Enrolled
Scott Halpern, MD, PhDPrincipal InvestigatorUniversity of Pennsylvania
1 Previous Clinical Trials
80 Total Patients Enrolled
Katherine Courtright, MD, MSPrincipal InvestigatorUniversity of Pennsylvania
1 Previous Clinical Trials
64,107 Total Patients Enrolled
~360 spots leftby Apr 2025