Evaluating Palliative Care Case Conferences in Primary Care for Patients with Advanced Non-Malignant Chronic Conditions: KOPAL Trial
Background
Patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and dementia often do not receive specialist palliative home care (SPHC) despite the complexity of their conditions. Collaboration between general practitioners (GPs) and SPHC teams is crucial to effectively meet their needs.
Objective
To facilitate joint palliative care planning and the timely transfer of patients with advanced chronic non-malignant conditions to SPHC.
Methods
A cluster-randomised controlled trial involving 49 GP practices in northern Germany. The KOPAL intervention included a SPHC nurse-patient consultation followed by an interprofessional telephone case conference between SPHC team and GP. The primary outcome was the number of hospital admissions 48 weeks after baseline.
Results
The intervention did not significantly reduce hospital admissions or the number of days spent in hospital. There was also no significant effect on quality of life or self-rated health.
Conclusions
The study did not show the expected effect on hospitalisations and health-related quality of life. Future research should focus on refining this approach to improve collaboration between GPs and SPHC teams.
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