Rapid-onset opioids for the treatment of breakthrough cancer pain: two cases of drug abuse.

Setting: In the last few years, the use of opioids for cancer pain has rapidly increased and new molecules have been developed. Currently, rapid-onset opioids are widely used in clinical practice for breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP). However, the tolerability of these molecules is still a matter of debate.

[Voluntary mediation in healthcare disputes: the experience of the "Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori" in Milan (Italy)].

The "Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori" ( National Tumour Institute) in Milan (Italy) offers mediation services aimed at restoring communication between patients and healthcare professionals, when their relationship has been altered by a conflict during the diagnosis or treatment process. A method derived from transformative mediation is used. The purpose of mediation is not to examine clinical aspects, nor to identify who is right and who is wrong.

Quality for home palliative care: an Italian metropolitan multicentre JCI-certified model.

Background: Assessing the quality of care and service delivery through the analysis of ad hoc indicators is a relevant process for quality monitoring and improvement with a view to providing patients, the community and administrators alike with appropriate elements of evaluation. This paper describes the key results of a certification process based on the Joint Commission International (JCI) criteria for the home hospitalisation model implemented by the palliative care units of seven Milan hospitals for terminally ill patients with cancer.

Methods: In 2006, the interhospital working team implemented a certification project based on the JCI Disease or Condition-Specific Care (DSCS) programme.

Quality for home palliative care: an Italian metropolitan multicentre JCI-certified model.

Background: Assessing the quality of care and service delivery through the analysis of ad hoc indicators is a relevant process for quality monitoring and improvement with a view to providing patients, the community and administrators alike with appropriate elements of evaluation. This paper describes the key results of a certification process based on the Joint Commission International (JCI) criteria for the home hospitalisation model implemented by the palliative care units of seven Milan hospitals for terminally ill patients with cancer.

Methods: In 2006, the interhospital working team implemented a certification project based on the JCI Disease or Condition-Specific Care (DSCS) programme.

Palliative care in a national cancer center: results in 1987 vs. 1993 vs. 2000.

In the last few years, palliative care for advanced and terminal cancer patients has undergone considerable evolution. We determined the characteristics of patients admitted to the 4-bed Palliative Care Unit (PCU) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of Milan in 1987, 1993 and 2000 to evaluate how our diagnostic and therapeutic approaches have changed over the years. We reviewed the charts of every patient admitted to the PCU in 1987, 1993, and the first ten months of 2000.