• Palliative Medicine Handbook 
  Back, Ian N. Palliative Medicine Handbook online edition. Cardiff: 2008 (UK) 
• Manual of Palliative Care 
  The IAHPC Manual of Palliative Care 2nd ed. online. International Association of Hospice and Palliative Care; 2008
• WHO Cancer Pain Release 
  Online journal WHO Pain & Palliative Care Communications Program; 2008       

Downloadable publications (PDFs)

Full-text articles and documents for downloading (PDFs)

• Until the chemist opens: palliation from the doctor’s bag
  Seidel R, Sanderson C, Mitchell G, Currow DC. Until the chemist opens: palliation from the doctor’s bag Australian Family Physician. 2006 Apr;35(4):225-31
• Managing comorbidities at the end of life 
  Stevenson J, Abernethy AP, Miller C, Currow DC. Managing comorbidities at the end of life BMJ. 2004 Oct 16;324(7471):909-12
• Analgesic choices in persistent pain 
  Analgesic choices in persistent pain Prescribing Practice Review No 35 National Prescribing Service 2006
• Buprenorphine 
  Buprenorphine transdermal patches (Norspan) for chronic severe pain RADAR Review  National Prescribing Service December 2005
• Fentanyl 
  Fentanyl  patches (Durogesic) for chronic pain RADAR Review National Prescribing Service October  2006
• Opioid conversion chart 
  Information for Health Professionals, Calvary Health Care Bethlehem
• The Use of “As Needed” PRN  Range Orders for Opioid Analgesics in the Management of Acute Pain - American Society for Pain Management Nursing and American Pain Society Consensus Statement 2004 
• Palliative Care Special Edition
  Australian Family Physician October 2006 - Palliative care Vol 35, (10) 753 - 832 
• Issues in palliative care for indigenous communities
  Maddocks I, Rayner RG. Issues in palliative care for indigenous communities Medical Journal of Australia. 2003 Sep 15;179(6 suppl):S17-9 
• Schwarz Center Rounds 
  A set of articles in The Oncologist looking at ethical, psychosocial and human aspects of end-of-life care

Patient Management Resources

• EPERC Fast Facts (US) 
  Succinct evidence-based summaries of issues related to clinical, communication and decision making aspects of end of life care
• Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement
• Advance Care Plans 
  RACGP webpage including state information, resources and links
• CISCaT 
  Australian website for detailed information about cancer treatment protocols
• Coping with Cancer 
  Supportive care information from the National Cancer Institute in the US

Education and Support for Practitioners

• Online training on opioids 
  Information on how to access via Rural and Remote Medical Education Online (RRMEO) or the gplearning website - a module from Palliative Care Australia
• Communication with Patients and Families (Canada) 
  An online education module
• Chapter in Palliative Medicine
  Information about specialty training in palliative medicine for GPs
• PEPA (Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach) 
  Information about a program enabling palliative care placements for GPs
• Doctors Health Database
  Support services for doctors

Other palliative care links and resources

• Cause of Death Certification (Australian Bureau of Statistics)
• Centre for Palliative Care Research and Education (Aust)
• Gold Standards Framework (UK) for provision of palliative care in the community
• Liverpool Care Pathway (UK) for information about end-of-life care pathways used in the National Health Service

Complete list of assessment tools
Routine use of symptom assessment tools can greatly improve the quality of care. They allow regular documentation and monitoring of symptoms, and of the effectiveness of treatment. 

Validated tools which can be easily used by GPs include:

Pain assessment tools
The Partners against Pain website has a series of useful pain scales including

The Dementia Care Australia website provides access to the Abbey Pain scale  which can be used for assessment of pain in patients with dementia who cannot verbalise.

Other Assessment Tools
The Centre to Advance Palliative Care has a series of useful tools including

• Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale
  Assesses the complete spectrum of palliative care symptoms
• Edmonton System Assessment Scale
  A briefer overall assessment tools
• ECOG Scale
  Assesses how the disease is progressing and performance state
• Modified Karnofsky Scale
  The scale is a modification of the Karnofsky Performance Scale for use in palliative care. 

The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, College of Nursing, New York University has information and access to the Confusion Assessment Method which a brief validated tool that screens for delirium.

Distress - a psychosocial assessment

• The Distress Thermometer is a self-assessment tool that patients can complete.The tool is included in NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines on Oncology Distress Management.

This page was created on 26 March 2007 and is due for review in March 2009
Last updated 13 October 2008