Finding the way to a better death: an evaluation of palliative care referral tools.

The authors of this study sought to identify a tool for assessing and referring dying inpatients to palliative care. Six currently available tools were evaluated to determine how well each tool incorporated 16 clinical criteria that indicate the need for palliative care. Scientific evidence supporting each instrument and the tools' ease of use at patients' bedside also was assessed. Results showed none of the tools incorporated all 16 clinical criteria, empirical evaluations were available for only two of the tools, and ease of use varied considerably. Directions for future research were discussed. Nurses working with critically and terminally ill inpatients should consider applying one or more of the current tools to facilitate access to palliative care.