Palliative Care

  • Use validated tools to identify a patient who may be entering the last year of life
  • Be aware of the challenges when discussing prognosis of chronic diseases
  • Demonstrate the use of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale and Palliative Performance Scale
  • Explain and counsel patients/families about Advance Care Planning, Goals of Care and DNR
  • Understand how to treat pain and dyspnea at end of life
  • Understand how to accurately complete a death certificate

Core Resources

Palliative Care.pdf

Fauteux J, Keegan DA, Braun T. Palliative Care. Canadian Family Medicine Clinical Card. 2010. Available at: https://sites.google.com/site/sharcfm/

Gold Standards Framework 2016

GSF PIG 6thEdition Dec 2016 K Thomas,Julie Armstrong Wilson and GSF Team, National Gold Standards Framework Centre in End of Life Care http://www.goldstandardsframework.org.uk

Uncertainty: the other side of prognosis

Smith AK et al., 2013. Uncertainty: the other side of prognosis, NEJM 368(26):2448-2450.

ESAS - Edmonton Symptom Assessment System

Regional Palliative Care Program.  Guidelines for using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS). 2001.

Palliative Performance Scale

Victoria Hospice Society. Palliative Performance Scale (PPSv2). Copyright 2001. http://www.npcrc.org/

Advance Care Planning Kit

Dying with Dignity Canada. Advance Care Planning Kit. January 2022. Available at: https://www.dyingwithdignity.ca/education-resources/advance-care-planning-kit/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAgribBhDkARIsAASA5bvoXWaOuVhwXyzmSoNUtbT-mbeBlcGEPfdi5RsoqobFit5GVqdTkqAaAjfqEALw_wcB

How to discuss goals of care with patients

Dunlay SM & Strand JJ, 2016. How to discuss goals of care with patients. Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine, 26:36-43. doi: 10.1016/j.tcm.2015.03.018

Sunnybrook Guide

Jackson L, Yang D. A Medication Dosing Guide for Management of Pain and Dyspnea in Palliative Care. Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Jan 2018

Improving the accuracy of death certification

Myers KA, Farquhar DR. Improving the accuracy of death certification. CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal. 1998;158(10):1317-1323.

Supplemental Resources

The “surprise question” for predicting death in seriously ill patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Downar J et al., 2017. The “surprise question” for predicting death in seriously ill patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis, CMAJ 189: E484-493. doi:10.1056/NEJMp1303295.

An eLearning module on Goals of Care from Mount Sinai Hospital

Steinberg L, Soong C, Safavi N, & Daly A. Improving your goals of care conversation. Sinai Health System. 2019. Available at: http://www.goalsofcaremodule.com

Discussing resuscitation preferences with patients: Challenges and rewards

Chittenden EH, Clark ST, Pantilat SZ, Discussing Resuscitation Preferences. J. Hosp. Med 2006;4;231-240. doi:10.1002/jhm.110

Pharmacologic management of chronic neuropathic pain: Review of the Canadian Pain Society consensus statement 2017

Mu et al. Pharmacologic management of chronic neuropathic pain: Review of the Canadian Pain Society consensus statement 2017. Can Fam Physician 2017;63:844-52

A recent and overarching guide to symptom management in Palliative Care in Canada

BC Centre for Palliative Care (2019). B.C. Inter-professional Palliative Symptom Management Guidelines. Avaialble at: https://www.bc-cpc.ca/cpc/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/BCPCClinicalBestPractices-PrintVersionColourFull.pdf.pdf

2017 Province of BC guideline for completing Death Certificates

British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency, Ministry of Health. Medical Certification of Death and Stillbirth – A handbook for Physicians, Nurse Practitioners and Coroners. Revised 2017. Available at: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/birth-adoption-death-marriage-and-divorce/deaths/vsa051.pdf

Palliative Care COVID-19 Case Series

Department of Family & Community Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto