Palliative & supportive care
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Palliat Support Care · Mar 2021
Mapping end-of-life and anticipatory medications in palliative care patients using a longitudinal general practice database.
End-of-life and anticipatory medications (AMs) have been widely used in various health care settings for people approaching end-of-life. Lack of access to medications at times of need may result in unnecessary hospital admissions and increased patient and family distress in managing palliative care at home. The study aimed to map the use of end-of-life and AM in a cohort of palliative care patients through the use of the Population Level Analysis and Reporting Data Space and to discuss the results through stakeholder consultation of the relevant organizations. ⋯ Improved knowledge and information around referral pathways enabling access to palliative care services for general practice patients and their caregivers are needed. Similarly, the increased utility of screening tools to identify patients with palliative care needs may be useful for health care practitioners to ensure timely care is provided.