An Invitation to Participate as a Pilot Provider in
The Life Quality Initiative
What is the invitation? To participate in a grant-funded pilot of The Life Quality Initiative, intended
to integrate palliative care principles and practices into the primary care setting. Participating
clinics/practices will receive
 free clinical training (2 hours introductory session(s) for all staff, plus 4 hours skills-based
training for staff designated for advance care planning conversations with patients),
 practice coaching on implementation, workflow and operational details
 anytime access to consultation with LQI faculty and clinicians on patient issues or
operational challenges during the grant period, and
 evaluation provided by the Dept of Family Medicine at University of Colorado.
Participants will be equipped with tools and guidance as to what patient interventions are needed for
the pilot and for tracking interventions and results. A small cohort of patients (~1-2% of clinic
population) will be the focus of the pilot.
How do we define “palliative care”? Palliative care is an approach to care for people with
serious/chronic illnesses. Palliative care is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious
or chronic illness and can be provided together with curative treatment. This type of care is
focused on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of serious or chronic
illness, whatever the diagnosis. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the
family. Specialty-level palliative care, including hospice, is provided by a team of physicians, nurses,
and others who work with a patient’s other healthcare providers to provide an extra layer of support.
Palliative care is proven to improve patient care and quality of life, increase care coordination, and
reduce unnecessary/unwanted treatments and costs. Some patients receiving palliative care in
advanced disease actually live longer than matched patients receiving treatment intended for cure.
Palliative care hits the bulls-eye of the Triple Aim: It improves quality of care for individual
patients; it offers a systematic and effective approach to care for a patient population (those with
serious or advanced illness), and it saves money: when palliative care is offered early in the course of
disease or even as a single consultation at a critical point of treatment, costs of care plummet.
In the primary care setting, palliative care includes introducing advance directives to adult
patients; discerning goals for health, care, and treatment; educating patients on prognosis, progress,
and likely symptoms of diseases; supporting patients’ decision making; managing pain and symptoms
of serious/chronic illness, with special attention in this project to pain and depression; coordinating
with other providers for complex patient care aligned with patient goals; and referring to specialty
palliative care services or hospice care when indicated.
What
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do we expect the Life Quality Initiative will do for your patients?
Effective advance care planning and goal-setting
Better understanding of disease process and self-care
Improved pain and symptom management, including suffering other than pain and physical
effects of disease or treatment.
Improved access to additional resources and supports
Timely referral to specialty services
What do we expect the Life Quality Initiative will do for your practice?
 Qualify for new transitional care management reimbursements from Medicare
 Extract more value from your interactions with patients with serious illness
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Enhance ability to effectively manage complex patients and coordinate care
Maximize skills of mid-levels and non-physician staff to increase patient throughput while
actually improving patient-provider interactions
Build capacity for achieving patient-centered medical home status, being a preferred provider
in accountable care organizations, positioning practice for value based compensation.
Who are we?
Life Quality Institute (LQI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing palliative care through
education. Since 2003, LQI has delivered more than 200,000 person-hours of education to healthcare
students, practicing healthcare professionals, and community groups. LQI pioneered palliative care
education for medical, nursing, pharmacy, and physician assistant students: through our efforts, the
University of Colorado School of Medicine now requires 40+ hours of palliative care content and clinical
exposure. LQI continues to educate UC physician assistant students in a specialized palliative care
rotation comprising 16 didactic and 24 clinical hours.
HealthTeamWorks has provided significant and effective practice transformation services to primary
care providers in Colorado since 2006. Their practice facilitation activities are tailored to meet the
challenges of primary care, especially in under-resourced settings or locations, using a systems
approach.
For more information, please contact Jennifer Ballentine, Executive Director, Life Quality Institute:
jballentine@lifequalityinstitute.org; 303-398-6317
Thank you!!