Palliative care can be very successfully integrated into general practice. While patients’ needs and expectations at this time of life may be more complex than those of other patient groups, many resources are available to support GPs in caring for these patients, including community nursing and specialist palliative care teams. It is useful to be aware of Medicare and PBS items that are specifically for palliative care patients.
Roles for your practice staff
Your own practice team can contribute to the care of palliative care patients.
- In assessment
Practice nurses can perform routine assessments of identified palliative care patients using simple assessment tools that provide valid information for monitoring and planning care. This can be included as part of other routine assessment activities such as the over 75 Health Assessments.
- In providing information for patients
Print out information for patients from this website. For patients or carers with access to the internet, refer them directly to the For Patients and Families webpages of CareSearch.
- In coordination
Case conferencing can be an efficient way to ensure coordination of all the players involved – practice nurses or practice managers may be able to arrange these. GPs have the option of participating by teleconference if physical attendance is difficult.
- In referrals
Develop a contact list of local allied health professionals to whom palliative care patients can be referred. This could include social workers or counsellors, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, dieticians, or psychologists.
Most palliative care patients will be unable to get in to the clinic eventually and will require home visits. Using a case conference to set up care arrangements with community nursing and palliative care teams ensures that the GP’s role is well supported, problems are identified early, and frequent assessments can be provided to the GP.
Phone advice and practical assistance can be obtained readily from palliative care specialists, who generally are very aware of the realities and challenges of caring for patients in the community.
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This page was created on 26 May 2009 and is due for review in May 2011.*