Most institutions lack protocols to integrate palliative care in the processes when implanting transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and ventricular assist devices (VADs), according to a research letter published May 23 in JAMA Internal Medicine. The research letter looked at results of an ACC member survey about caring for patients with a TAVR and/or VAD. Only 34 percent of respondents reported that they received formal palliative care education in their cardiovascular training programs. “Given the importance of palliative care in patients undergoing TAVR and VAD, and in light of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and The Joint Commission requirement that palliative care specialists must be involved in care teams for destination therapy VAD patients, cardiovascular clinicians should receive more training in palliative care,” says James N. Kirkpatrick, MD, FACC, lead author and a member of ACC’s Geriatric Cardiology Section. Read more on ACC.org.