Context. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is stressing health care systems throughout the world. Significant numbers of patients are being admitted to the hospital with severe illness, often in the setting of advanced age and underlying comorbidities. Therefore, palliative care is an important part of the response to this pandemic. The Seattle area and UW Medicine have been on the forefront of the pandemic in the U.S. Methods. UW Medicine developed a strategy to implement a palliative care response for a multihospital health care system that incorporates conventional capacity, contingency capacity, and crisis capacity. The strategy was developed by our palliative care programs with input from the health care system leadership. Results. In this publication, we share our multifaceted strategy to implement high-quality palliative care in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that incorporates conventional, contingency, and crisis capacity and focuses on the areas of the hospital caring for the most patients: the emergency department, intensive care units, and acute care services. The strategy focuses on key content areas, including identifying and addressing goals of care, addressing moderate and severe symptoms, and supporting family members. Conclusion. Strategy planning for delivery of high-quality palliative care in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic represents an important area of need for our health care systems. We share our experiences of developing such a strategy to help other institutions conduct and adapt such strategies more quickly.

Kidney palliative care is a growing discipline within nephrology. Kidney palliative care specifically addresses the stress and burden of advanced kidney disease through the provision of expert symptom management, caregiver support, and advance care planning with the goal of optimizing quality of life for patients and families. The integration of palliative care principles is necessary to address the multidimensional impact of advanced kidney disease on patients. In particular, patients with advanced kidney disease have a high symptom burden and experience greater intensity of care at the end of life compared with other chronic serious illnesses. Currently, access to kidney palliative care is lacking, whether delivered by trained kidney care professionals or by palliative care clinicians. These barriers include a gap in training and workforce, policies limiting access to hospice and outpatient palliative care services for patients with ESKD, resistance to integrating palliative care within the nephrology community, and the misconception that palliative care is synonymous with end-of-life care. As such, addressing kidney palliative care needs on a population level will require not only access to specialized kidney palliative care initiatives, but also equipping kidney care professionals with the skills to address basic kidney palliative care needs. This article will address the role of kidney palliative care for patients with advanced kidney disease, describe models of care including primary and specialty kidney palliative care, and outline strategies to improve kidney palliative care on a provider and system level.

Objective. To determine the direct and indirect cost of osteoarthritis (OA) according to disease severity, and to estimate the total cost of the disease in Hong Kong. Methods. This study is a retrospective, cross-sectional, nonrandom, cohort design, with subjects stratified according to disease severity based on functional limitation and the presence or absence of joint prosthesis. Subjects were recruited from primary care, geriatric medicine, rheumatology, and orthopedic clinics. There were 219 patients in the mild disease category, 290 patients in the severe category, and 65 patients with joint replacement. A questionnaire gathered information on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, function limitation, use of health and social services, and effect on occupation and living arrangements over the previous 12 months. Costs were calculated as direct and indirect. Results. Low education and socioeconomic class were associated with more severe disease. OA affected family or close relationships in 44%. The average cost incurred as a result of side effects of medication is similar to the average cost of medication itself. Excluding joint replacement, the direct costs ranged from Hong Kong (HK) dollar $11,690 to $40,180 per person per year and indirect costs, HK $3,300 -$6,640. The direct costs are comparable to those reported in Western countries; however, the ratio of direct to indirect costs is much higher than 1, in contrast to the greater indirect versus direct costs reported in whites. The total cost expressed as a percentage of gross national product is also much lower in Hong Kong. Conclusions. The socioeconomic impact of OA in the Hong Kong population is comparable to Western countries, but the economic burden is largely placed on the government, with patients having relatively low out-of-pocket expenditures.

Over the last 10-15 years, the incidence of treated end-stage renal disease (ESRD) among older adults has increased and dialysis is being initiated at progressively higher levels of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Average life expectancy after dialysis initiation among older adults is quite limited, and many experience an escalation of care and loss of independence after starting dialysis. Available data suggest that treatment decisions about dialysis initiation in older adults in the United States are guided more by system- than by patient-level factors. Stronger efforts are thus needed to ensure that treatment decisions for older adults with advanced kidney disease are optimally aligned with their goals and preferences. There is growing interest in more conservative approaches to the management of advanced kidney disease in older patients who prefer not to initiate dialysis and those for whom the harms of dialysis are expected to outweigh the benefits. A number of small single center studies, mostly from the United Kingdom report similar survival among the subset of older adults with a high burden of comorbidity treated with dialysis vs. those managed conservatively. However, the incidence of treated ESRD in older US adults is several-fold higher than in the United Kingdom, despite a similar prevalence of chronic kidney disease, suggesting large differences in the social, cultural, and economic context in which dialysis treatment decisions unfold. Thus, efforts may be needed to adapt conservative care models developed outside the United States to optimally meet the needs of US patients. More flexible approaches toward dialysis prescription and better integration of treatment decisions about conservative care with those related to modality selection will likely be helpful in meeting the needs of individual patients. Regardless of the chosen treatment strategy, time can often be a critical ally in centering care on what matters most to the patient, and a flexible and iterative approach of re-evaluation and redirection may often be needed to ensure that treatment strategies are fully aligned with patient priorities.