Palliative care needs assessment
Identify the priority population, current service gaps, operating constraints, and the most actionable place to begin.
↗The field guide
Resources for building care that holds up in practice.
Practical guidance and trusted reference sources for leaders developing palliative care, hospice, oncology supportive care, and broader serious illness programs.
Explore the libraryFeatured guide
How to build a palliative care program
Building a sustainable palliative care service requires more than choosing a staffing model. This guide maps the core decisions involved in defining the population, care model, workflows, workforce, financial case, measures, and implementation sequence.
Read the program development guide- Population
- Care model
- Workforce
- Financial case
- Measurement
- Implementation
02
Planning library
Four decisions shape a sustainable program.
Use these focused guides to assess demand, translate scope into an interdisciplinary workforce, and build a defensible financial case.
Palliative care staffing models
Connect setting, scope, demand, coverage, and nonclinical work to a realistic interdisciplinary workforce plan.
↗The financial case for palliative care
Build transparent assumptions for program cost, revenue, utilization, quality, workforce, and strategic value.
↗How to build a palliative care program
Bring population, care model, workflow, workforce, finance, measurement, and implementation into one roadmap.
↗How to choose a palliative care consultant
Define the decision, compare expertise and proposals, require decision-ready deliverables, and select an advisor who understands clinical and operating reality.
↗03
Strategy by setting
Apply the framework where care is delivered.
Focused resources for settings where clinical purpose, operating design, workforce, measurement, and financial accountability must be developed together.
01
Cancer centers
02Oncology palliative care consulting
Design supportive care models, referral pathways, staffing, workflows, measures, and implementation plans.
Hospice organizations
03Hospice operations consulting
Review access, admissions, interdisciplinary work, physician roles, quality, capacity, and alignment across care settings.
Systems & payers
Value-based serious illness care
Connect population identification, clinical intervention, payer-provider workflows, workforce, measures, and contract accountability.
Field notes / 20 essays
Ideas & commentary
Read The Palliative Lens
Andrew Esch, MD writes about serious illness, clinical leadership, healthcare operations, ethics, workforce, and the human realities behind system-level decisions.
04
Before designing
Begin with the questions that change the model.
Strong programs start with explicit choices about need, purpose, access, and accountability.
Who most needs the service?
Define the priority population using clinical need, setting, diagnoses, utilization patterns, unmet support needs, and organizational goals.
What problem must improve?
Clarify whether the immediate need is access, symptom support, care coordination, clinician capacity, transitions, quality, or financial sustainability.
How will patients reach the team?
Referral criteria, screening, clinical triggers, workflows, and relationships with referring teams often determine whether a model succeeds.
How will progress be measured?
Select focused access, quality, experience, utilization, workforce, and financial measures tied directly to the program's purpose.
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External references
Trusted sources for evidence, policy, and practice.
Organizations and publications offering clinical guidance, quality frameworks, research, policy information, and value-based care resources.
Clinical & program design
Quality & measurement
Research & evidence
Business case & value-based care
Put the guidance to work
A useful resource should lead to a clearer next decision.
Explore our advisory services or start a conversation about the question your organization is working through now.