Interstitial lung disease (ILD) affects roughly 6.3 to 76 per 100,000 people of predominantly older adult patients worldwide and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Patients with such idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis suffer symptom burdens similar to patients with cancer and commonly experience long, costly hospitalizations that often include care in an intensive care unit (ICU). Despite the presence of numerous unmet needs, ILD patients uncommonly receive palliative care because of lack of symptom recognition, supports to provide advanced care planning (ACP) and symptom control, and processes to promote collaboration between primary teams and palliative care specialists to deliver the appropriate level of care. To address this important clinical gap, we propose adapting our existing needs-targeted PCplanner (Palliative Care planner) mobile app platform to the outpatient setting. PCplanner Outpatient will allow patients to report their needs, provide video content to stimulate knowledge of and discussion about more advanced care planning, and assist primary physicians in recognizing the optimal timing of specialist palliative care referral.
The purpose of this research study is to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and evidence for clinical impact of a mobile app-based program called Palliative Care Planner (PCplanner) in addressing needs and promoting advance care planning discussions among patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and their clinicians.