Draft Findings Suggest Outpatient Palliative Care Improves Quality of Life and Patient Satisfaction While Reducing Hospital and Emergency Room Visits

February 9, 2016 – The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has released a new draft report titled Palliative Care in the Outpatient Setting. The report offers an overview of the policy landscape and a review of the evidence on the delivery of palliative care in the outpatient setting. The report will be open to public comment for a two-week period. A revised draft report, updated based on public comments received, will be available in early March and will be the subject of a public meeting of the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (New England CEPAC) on March 31, 2016.

The ICER report includes an overview of the evolution of palliative care in the outpatient setting, describing different structure and payment models that have been implemented in varying health care systems. The report also presents an analysis of the evidence on the comparative clinical effectiveness and value of different approaches to palliative care

The draft conclusion in ICER’s report finds that outpatient palliative care improves patients’ quality of life and satisfaction with care while reducing the use and costs of emergency and hospital services.

ICER Process

The draft report, as well as accompanying draft voting questions, will be open to public comment until February 23, 2016.Comments should be emailed to info@icer-review.org. Guidelines for submitting public comments, including formatting specifications, are available on the New England CEPAC website. ICER will review all comments received and incorporate changes to the reports as necessary. A revised draft report and updated voting questions will be posted on or about March 9, 2016.

The revised draft report will be the subject of deliberation and vote at the next meeting of the New England CEPAC on March 31, 2016, in Hartford, Connecticut. During this meeting, the Council will deliberate and vote on the evidence presented in ICER’s report, and a Policy Roundtable of experts in the field will discuss recommendations for applying the evidence to policy and practice to improve patient care.

There will be a limited number of time slots available for anyone wishing to make an oral comment on the report during the in-person meeting. Requests to make an oral comment should be submitted to info@icer-review.org by Thursday, March 24, 2016 at 5pm EST.

Meeting Details

Date: March 31, 2016

Location:  Hartford, CT

Meeting details are available on the New England CEPAC website.

Click here to register to attend the in-person meeting.


About ICER

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is an independent non-profit research institute that produces reports analyzing the evidence on the effectiveness and value of drugs and other medical services.  ICER’s reports include evidence-based calculations of prices for new drugs that accurately reflect the degree of improvement expected in long-term patient outcomes, while also highlighting price levels that might contribute to unaffordable short-term cost growth for the overall health care system.  ICER’s reports incorporate extensive input from all stakeholders and are the subject of public hearings through three core programs: the California Technology Assessment Forum (CTAF), the Midwest Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (Midwest CEPAC) and the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (New England CEPAC). These independent panels review ICER’s reports at public meetings to deliberate on the evidence and develop recommendations for how patients, clinicians, insurers, and policymakers can improve the quality and value of health care. For more information about ICER, please visit ICER’s website.