TY - JOUR
T1 - Enhancing family physician capacity to deliver quality palliative home care
T2 - An end-of-life, shared-care model
AU - Marshall, D.
AU - Howell, D.
AU - Brazil, K.
AU - Taniguchi, A.
AU - Howard, M.
N1 - MEDLINE® is the source for the MeSH terms of this document.
PY - 2008/12/1
Y1 - 2008/12/1
N2 - PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED: Family physicians face innumerable challenges to delivering quality palliative home care to meet the complex needs of end-of-life patients and their families. OBJECTIVE OF PROGRAM: To implement a model of shared care to enhance family physicians' ability to deliver quality palliative home care, particularly in a community-based setting. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Family physicians in 3 group practices (N = 21) in Ontario's Niagara West region collaborated with an interprofessional palliative care team (including a palliative care advanced practice nurse, a palliative medicine physician, a bereavement counselor, a psychosocial-spiritual advisor, and a case manager) in a shared-care partnership to provide comprehensive palliative home care. Key features of the program included systematic and timely identification of end-of-life patients, needs assessments, symptom and psychosocial support interventions, regular communication between team members, and coordinated care guided by outcome-based assessment in the home. In addition, educational initiatives were provided to enhance family physicians' knowledge and skills. CONCLUSION: Because of the program, participants reported improved communication, effective interprofessional collaboration, and the capacity to deliver palliative home care, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to end-of-life patients in the community.
AB - PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED: Family physicians face innumerable challenges to delivering quality palliative home care to meet the complex needs of end-of-life patients and their families. OBJECTIVE OF PROGRAM: To implement a model of shared care to enhance family physicians' ability to deliver quality palliative home care, particularly in a community-based setting. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Family physicians in 3 group practices (N = 21) in Ontario's Niagara West region collaborated with an interprofessional palliative care team (including a palliative care advanced practice nurse, a palliative medicine physician, a bereavement counselor, a psychosocial-spiritual advisor, and a case manager) in a shared-care partnership to provide comprehensive palliative home care. Key features of the program included systematic and timely identification of end-of-life patients, needs assessments, symptom and psychosocial support interventions, regular communication between team members, and coordinated care guided by outcome-based assessment in the home. In addition, educational initiatives were provided to enhance family physicians' knowledge and skills. CONCLUSION: Because of the program, participants reported improved communication, effective interprofessional collaboration, and the capacity to deliver palliative home care, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to end-of-life patients in the community.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?partnerID=yv4JPVwI&eid=2-s2.0-58049209589&md5=b45bf05314ba7cad66d6ae0739688490
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:58049209589
VL - 54
JO - Canadian Family Physician
JF - Canadian Family Physician
SN - 0008-350X
IS - 12
ER -