Consultation in palliative care: the relevance of clarification of problems.

This study aims to determine the extent and nature of problems in palliative care that are newly identified in the consultation process and the factors influencing their identification. The consultation process includes clarification of problems mentioned by professionals requesting advice. Data are derived from the standard registration forms of Palliative Care Consultation teams.

Requests from professional care providers for consultation with palliative care consultation teams.

Goals Of Work: Professional care providers need a substantial basis of competence and expertise to provide appropriate palliative care. Little is known about the problems professionals experience in their palliative care provision in daily practice or about the nature of the advice and support they request from experts. Our aim was to investigate the extent to which professionals requested assistance from palliative care consultation teams and the reasons behind these requests to trace any gaps they experience in the provision of palliative care.