What was the outcome of the committee's discussion on the identified prognostic risk tools?
The committee agreed that the evidence did not support the use of any of the identified prognostic risk tools to identify heart failure patients at high risk of mortality. The committee also discussed the potential for serious harm from inappropriate use of risk tools in the palliative care context. Incorrectly categorising a person at high risk of death could have negative consequences for that person and their family. Further, if the tools were misused as a criterion for access to palliative care services that would also cause substantial harm, given they fail to identify many of the patients who may benefit from such interventions.