Improving quality of life and end-of-life care: Standardizing goals of care notes in EHRs

Improving quality of life and end-of-life care: Standardizing goals of care notes in EHRs 
EurekAlert! - American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Indianapolis, IN; Regenstrief  Institute, peer-reviewed publication; 2/19/25 
... A new study by researchers from Regenstrief Institute, the Indiana University School of Medicine and Indiana University Health presents the standardized goals of care note they developed, deployed and evaluated as a quality improvement initiative at IU Health, a large, statewide healthcare system. ... The study authors report:

• Palliative clinicians documented patient preferences, values and religion more often than other clinicians in goal of care notes (75% versus 32%).
• Palliative care clinicians documented a patient capacity to make medical decisions more often than other clinicians (74% versus 33%).
• Palliative care clinicians identified the patient’s legal decision maker more often than other clinicians (70% versus 32%).
• Hospice was discussed more by palliative care clinicians than other clinicians (50% versus 27%). Palliative care discussions yielded higher hospice enrollments, indicating selection of comfort care before death (50% versus 35%).
• Among the patients who died during the study, other clinicians wrote goals of care notes closer to death compared to palliative care clinicians (4 days before death versus 19 days). Late goals of care conversations may provide less time for patients and families to prepare for the end of life.

Editor's note: Pair these findings with today's post, "The intersection of medicine and humanity in palliative care."