Winning Hearts and Minds: The Challenges and Successes of Outpatient Palliative Care for Patients with Heart Failure (TH338)

•Outline the benefits of palliative care in the management of patients with heart failure.•Describe common barriers to providing palliative care in the heart failure population.•Identify key tools necessary for a successful outpatient specialty palliative care clinic for heart failure patients. Heart failure is the leading cause of death in the United States, and it affects approximately 6.5 million people globally. As a chronic and debilitating disease that may span years or even decades of a patient's life, heart failure carries the risk of high symptom burden and decreased quality of life for the people it affects. Most—if not all—patients with heart failure will have palliative care needs at some point during their illness. Emerging evidence demonstrates that palliative care provides substantial benefits for heart failure patients. Recent guidelines from the American College of Cardiology recommend palliative care as a standard of care for all patients with advanced heart failure. Still, clinicians frequently encounter roadblocks when attempting to integrate palliative care into this population. Due to the unpredictable trajectory of heart failure and other barriers unique to the culture of cardiology, the proper timing of palliative care can be particularly challenging. Often, it is offered too late or not at all. One solution for more timely and effective implementation of palliative care for heart failure patients is the outpatient specialty clinic model. In this session, two nurse practitioners with experience in both palliative care and cardiology will briefly review current research supporting the value of palliative care for heart failure patients. They will also explore common barriers to integrating palliative care in the heart failure population, including patients with Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs). Finally, they will offer practical guidance on the structure and resources necessary for building and maintaining an outpatient palliative care clinic for heart failure patients. Using case examples and knowledge garnered from their own experience, the presenters will share their own successes and difficulties with providing specialty palliative care in the outpatient setting. Interactive audience discussion will be encouraged.