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Most palliative care programs focus on inpatient care for cancer patients. In this U.S. Veterans Affairs study, researchers focused on outpatient palliative care by randomizing 300 high-risk patients (highest 20th percentile of risk for hospitalization or death within 1 year) with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart failure (HF), or interstitial lung disease to outpatient palliative care or to “usual care.” The palliative care intervention consisted of team-based outreach by a nurse and social worker, each of whom made 6 phone calls to each patient during 4 months; phone calls were focused on symptom management, lifestyle modification, and mental health assessment. Control patients received educational handouts and de…