Resource Highlight: Concurrent Care

Concurrent Care: Is it time for a new national dialogue?

Earlier this year leaders from across the country gathered for “Shaping the Future of Serious Illness Care: A Convening to Define Concurrent Care,” a one-day working session that was held in Baltimore, MD. An interdisciplinary cohort of 45 clinicians, patient advocates, and leaders from across the field of serious illness care including pediatrics engaged in a series of sessions throughout the day to explore areas of consensus on the fundamental elements of concurrent care. The conversations from the convening were captured in a newly released summary report that sets the stage for next steps needed to advance concurrent care. The summary report is open access and can be used by any stakeholders with interest in advancing concurrent care.

Attendees were asked to explore what emerging factors they see in the next 5-15 years that will impact the language around concurrent care and should be considered. Attendees were also asked what they see as the core principles, ideas, and goals of concurrent care. The most resonant point was that concurrent care encompasses more than medical treatment—it fosters meaningful, empowering conversations throughout the healthcare journey that put patients in control of their own care.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Convening was made possible thanks to support from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, National Coalition for Hospice & Palliative Care, and National Association for Home Care and Hospice.