The Intensive Palliative Care Unit: Changing Outcomes for Hospitalized Cancer Patients in an Academic Medical Center

Abstract Background: Patients with advanced cancer often require complex symptom management. At Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, the intensive palliative care unit (IPCU) admits symptomatic oncology patients with uncontrolled symptoms throughout the trajectory of illness. Patients are uniquely managed by an interdisciplinary team of clinicians who focus on symptom management and advance care planning. Objective: The purpose of our analysis was to investigate goals-of-care outcomes and healthcare utilization after admission to the IPCU. Design: We retrospectively reviewed 74 oncology patients admitted to the IPCU in August and September, 2013. Results: A total of 67 IPCU patients who were admitted received palliative intent treatment, whereas 7 patients received curative intent care. All patients were engaged in a goals-of-care discussion during admission. Of the palliative intent patients, 58% were transferred to the IPCU from medical oncology and 42% were directly admitted. Forty-eight perc...