Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2010
Vietnam's palliative care initiative: successes and challenges in the first five years.
In 2005, Vietnam's Ministry of Health (MoH) launched a palliative care initiative that uses the World Health Organization (WHO) public health strategy for national palliative care program development. With international financial and technical support, the initiative has made significant early progress. ⋯ Many challenges must be overcome to reach the goal of access for all to essential palliative care services that are integrated into the systems of cancer care, HIV/AIDS care, and primary care. Going forward, crucial aspects of the initiative will be continued commitment to palliative care by the MoH, careful planning and targeted funding that address each part of the WHO public health strategy, ongoing expert technical support, and collaboration among international technical and financial supporters.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2010
Integrating palliative care into the outpatient, private practice oncology setting.
Quality care for patients with cancer is a national priority-for those with noncurable cancer, the stakes are even higher. Strategies to promote integration of palliative care into oncology practice may enhance quality. We have developed a model in which palliative care services are integrated into the private, office-based oncology practice setting. We have evaluated the feasibility and assessed outcomes for both the oncologists and the patients they serve. To our knowledge, an embedded clinic in an outpatient, private practice oncology clinic has not been described previously. ⋯ An embedded palliative care clinic integrated into an office-based oncology practice is feasible and may improve the quality of care. Formal study of this service delivery model is warranted.