Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Jul 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic: A tipping point for advance care planning? Experiences of general practitioners.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused an acute risk of deterioration and dying for many, and an urgent need to start advance care planning. ⋯ The COVID-19 pandemic brought advance care planning into a new light, GPs were more experienced with discussing it and patients were more aware of their frailty. Because of the nearing 'grey wave', advance care planning should remain top priority. Therefore, it should be central in GP and post-academic training.
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Palliative medicine · Jul 2021
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyLessons from the COVID-19 pandemic for improving outpatient neuropalliative care: A qualitative study of patient and caregiver perspectives.
COVID-19 has impacted persons with serious illness, including those with chronic, neurodegenerative conditions. While there are several reports on COVID-19's impact on inpatient palliative care, literature is limited about the impact on outpatient care which may be more relevant for these patients. ⋯ Patients and caregivers have unmet care needs because of the pandemic, exacerbated by social isolation. While telemedicine has helped improve access to healthcare, patients and caregivers perceive clear limitations compared to in-person services. Changes in society and healthcare delivery in response to COVID-19 highlight ongoing and novel gaps that must be addressed to optimize future outpatient palliative care for neurologic illness.
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Palliative medicine · Jul 2021
ReviewAssessment tools for problematic opioid use in palliative care: A scoping review.
Screening for problematic opioid use is increasingly recommended in patients receiving palliative care. ⋯ Given the dearth of studies using tools developed or validated specifically for patients receiving palliative care, further research is needed to inform clinical practice and policy regarding problematic opioid use in palliative care.
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Palliative medicine · Jul 2021
Understanding and addressing challenges for advance care planning in the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis of the UK CovPall survey data from specialist palliative care services.
Specialist palliative care services play an important role in conducting advance care planning during COVID-19. Little is known about the challenges to advance care planning in this context, or the changes services made to adapt. ⋯ Professionals and healthcare providers need to ensure advance care planning is individualised by tailoring it to the values, priorities, and ethnic/cultural/religious context of each person. Policymakers need to consider how high-quality advance care planning can be resourced as a part of standard healthcare ahead of future pandemic waves. In facilitating this, we provide questions to consider at each level of the Social Ecological Model.