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During the past decade, palliative care consultation teams have grown in popularity. The goals of these multidisciplinary teams are to alleviate suffering and improve quality of life in patients with terminal illnesses. Palliative care teams improve the process of care and decrease use of intensive care units; however, whether inpatient palliative care consultations improve quality of care from patients’ or families’ perspectives is unknown.
Investigators conducted telephone surveys with family members of 524 veterans who had received inpatient care during the last month of life at one of five U.S. Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers. Interviewers used the Family Assessment of Treatment at End-of-life (FATE) survey (score range, 0–100). Th…