Hub and Spokes-Implementation of Basic Palliative Care into University Hospital Practice-A Pilot Study.

The aim is to implement knowledge of basic palliative care in selected departments by the Hub and Spokes model. Implementation of basic palliative care was designed as a stepwise training model by skills lectures over a time period of 2 years. In each of the six selected oncological and nononcological departments, one physician and two nurses were trained in semi-annual half-day meetings as expert representatives within their departments.

Outpatient Palliative Care Service Involvement: A Five-Year Experience from a Tertiary Hospital in Switzerland.

Background: The value of early integration of palliative care has been demonstrated increasingly for the past years in both oncological and nononcological diseases. Outpatient palliative care services might represent a feasible approach to implement supportive care in early disease. In this study, we aimed at evaluating which patients use and benefit from outpatient palliative care services, which symptoms are addressed most, and which support services are installed in this early phase of disease.