Planning care for patients and their families admitted to palliative care services assists consistent quality of service provision, clinical decision making and resource management. The aim of this project was to recommend key clinical tools that may assist with the admission and coordination of care provision for patients and family caregivers across specialist palliative care settings.
Methods: The process of developing the list of recommended tools involved four phases:
1) a survey with the objective of documenting which clinical tools are currently used in the palliative care sector in Victoria, Australia;
2) a literature review, with the objective of identifying further clinical tools specific to palliative care;
3) an appraisal process, with the objective of establishing a shortlist of clinical tools that merit detailed consideration;
4) a multi-disciplinary expert specialist focus group meeting, with the objective of endorsing a suite of clinical tools that meet the aims of this project for the specialist palliative care provision in Victoria, Australia.
The analysis was guided by nine domains of palliative care: Multi-Domain or Needs Assessment; Pain; Family/Caregiver Needs; Emotional Distress; Spirituality; Symptoms; Performance/Function; Quality of Life; Prognosis; Care of Dying Patient.
Results: This project has identified 12 key clinical tools which cover the above domains of palliative care and the requirement for a suite of clinical assessment tools to facilitate initial screening assessments, on the one hand, and comprehensive assessment in a particular domain and follow-up, on the other.
Conclusion: The results of this project provide a valuable resource that can enhance assessment and care planning within specialist palliative care.
Funding: The project was funded by the Department of Health in Victoria, Australia, to support the initiatives of the Palliative Care Clinical Network.