Holzer Hosts CME Dinner Cruise Featuring Dr. Scott Mitchell, Palliative Physician
Holzer Health System was proud to host a CME Dinner Cruise on the Belle of Cincinnati during its tour in the Gallipolis and Point Pleasant area. Scott Mitchell, MD, CMD, Palliative Care physician, Holzer Health System, delivered the program for the CME, which focused on Prognostication and Delivering Bad News. Prognostication is the prediction of likely future outcomes of a disease with or without treatment, which includes survival, symptoms, function, quality of life, family impact, and financial concerns. Several physicians and healthcare staff were available to enjoy an evening of information, good food, and wonderful scenery as the Belle of Cincinnati traveled the Ohio River.
Dr. Mitchell provided information on the difference between palliative care and hospice, and which situations require a referral to which service line, how to implement prognostication into a plan of care, and identified effective communication skills to use when sharing serious news to patients and families.
“Palliative care is patient and family-centered care that optimizes quality of life by anticipating, preventing and treating suffering. Palliative care throughout the continuum of illness involves addressing physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual needs to facilitate patient autonomy, access to information and choice,” stated Dr. Mitchell. “Hospice care is provided for patients when they have been diagnosed with a terminal illness with a prognosis of six months or less. At that time, comfort care and symptom management become the primary focus, and curative treatment is no longer an option for the patient. In conclusion, all hospice patients are receiving palliative care, but not all palliative care patients are ready for hospice services.”
Communication skills are vitally important for discussing goals of care, prognosis and delivering bad news. It is important to prepare and plan with the patient, assess patient/family knowledge, review and share medical information, show empathy, conflict identification and resolution and plan for the future/goal setting.
Dr. Mitchell shared the following quote from Leo Buscaglia with all in attendance. “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” It is important for all healthcare staff to recognize that the simplest of gestures can make the biggest impact.
Palliative medicine at Holzer utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to patient care, relying on input throughout our healthcare system, including physicians, pharmacists, nurses, chaplains, social workers, and Hospice to create a plan of care to relieve suffering in all areas of life. This multidisciplinary approach allows the palliative care team to address physical, emotional, spiritual and social concerns that arise with advanced illness.
Holzer’s Palliative Care Team provides both effective inpatient and outpatient management of patients with serious, potentially life threatening illness independent of curative or life-prolonging care. The primary focus is placed on pain and symptom control, psychosocial distress, spiritual issues and practical needs. Additionally, our desire is to be very informative so that patients and their families can fully understand the illness, prognosis and treatment options and then work from that knowledge in establishing goals of care. Knowledge, understanding and compassion are key foundational concepts for the success of Palliative Care.
