Objective: Chronic non-malignant diseases (CNMDs) are under-represented in specialist palliative home care (SPHC). The timely integration of SPHC for patients suffering from these diseases can reduce hospitalisation and alleviate symptom burdens. An intervention of an SPHC nurse-patient consultation followed by an interprofessional telephone case conference with the general practitioner (GP) was tested in the KOPAL trial ('Concept for strengthening interprofessional collaboration for patients with palliative care needs').
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: People receiving home care usually have complex healthcare needs requiring the involvement of informal caregivers and various health professionals. In this context, successful collaboration is an important element of person-centred care, which is often insufficiently implemented. Consequences might be found in avoidable hospitalisations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Progressive chronic, non-malignant diseases (CNMD) like congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and dementia are of growing relevance in primary care. Most of these patients suffer from severe symptoms, reduced quality of life and increased numbers of hospitalisations. Outpatient palliative care can help to reduce hospitalisation rate by up to 50%.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Interprofessionalism, considered as collaboration between medical professionals, has gained prominence over recent decades and evidence for its impact has grown. The steadily increasing number of residents in nursing homes will challenge medical care and the interaction across professions, especially nurses and general practitioners (GPs). The nursing home visit, a key element of medical care, has been underrepresented in research.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Geriatric assessments are established tools in institutional care since they enable standardized detection of relevant age-related disorders. Geriatric assessments could also be helpful in general practice. However, they are infrequently used in this setting, mainly due to their lengthy administration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: This study explores the current state of collaboration and communication between nurses and general practitioners in nursing homes, as well as needs and expectations of nursing home residents and their families. Finally, we aim to develop a new model of collaboration and communication.
Background: Rising numbers of residents in nursing homes present a challenge for general practice and nursing in most Western countries.