Resources for Pharmacists supporting GP practices

Standards and Guidelines

• Guidelines for the handling of palliative care medicines in community services
• Guide to the Pharmacological Management of End of Life (Terminal) Symptoms in Residential Aged Care Symptoms in Residential Aged Care Residents
• Example policy and procedures: Supporting carers to help manage breakthrough symptoms safely using subcutaneous medicines in the home – May be used by community service providers to develop and/or review relevant documentation within their own policies and procedures framework
• Solutions to supply and access issues for palliative care medications during COVID-19 (ANZSPM)
• Informed consent in health care (Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care) Factsheet for clinicians
• Guidelines for subcutaneous infusion device management in palliative care (Queensland Government)
• Syringe driver compatibility Guidance document (Safer Care Victoria).

Clinical Guidance

• palliMEDS app – An evidence-based palliative care app produced by NPS MedicineWise and caring@home designed to familiarise primary care prescribers and community pharmacists with medicines commonly used for management of terminal care symptoms
• Therapeutic Guidelines: Palliative Care (Requires Subscription)

• RACGP aged care clinical guide (Silver Book)
• 1300 PALLCR (1300 725 537) – 24/7 palliative care advice hotline for Queensland doctors, NPs, paramedics and pharmacists to speak directly with a Specialist Palliative Care Consultant. Please visit the PallConsult website for more information on the PallConsult project, NIKI T34™, T34™ or BodyGuard™T syringe pump resources and the state-wide expected death letter.
• Syringe Driver Survey Database (SDSD) at palliativedrugs.com Registration provides free access to the database.

Community Palliative Care Resources

• caring@home – resources for health professionals and carers of people who choose to be cared for, and to die at home, if possible.

Clinical Tools Used in Palliative Care

• Surprise Question – An easy, cost-effective tool used to assess the right moment to start palliative care
• Supportive and Palliative Care Indicator Tool (SPICT)
• Clinical Frailty Scale
• SBAR communication tool – An easy to use, structured form of communication that enables information to be transferred accurately between individuals
• Dying to Talk Discussion Starters – A tool used to guide you through how to start conversations about planning ahead

Online Educational Modules

• PSA Palliative Care Essential CPE – Accredited activity supported by the New South Wales Government with an unrestricted educational grant and available free of charge to both PSA members and non-members. This will provide pharmacists with a comprehensive overview of palliative care, including strategies to communicate effectively with people and caregivers about palliative care and their medicines management plan.
• End-of-Life Essentials Education Modules – Designed to assist doctors, nurses and allied health professionals working in acute hospital in delivering care at the end of life. However, some of the skills learnt in these modules may be transferrable to a community setting
• CareSearch My Learning modules – Aim to demonstrate how to find relevant evidence and how to use the evidence in CareSearch to make a difference in clinical care.

Videos

• Providing care to older Australians at the end of life
• Pain assessment, management and initiating opioids
• Introduction to management of nausea and vomiting in palliative care
• Introduction to management of dyspnoea in palliative care
• The roles pharmacists play in the Aged Care setting at the end of life
• The end of life care framework
• Introduction to management of delirium in palliative care
• PallConsult NIKI T34 Video 1 – Using syringe pumps in the palliative care clinical environment

Journal Articles

• Clinical networks influencing policy and practice: the establishment of advanced practice pharmacist roles for specialist palliative care services in South Australia
• Community pharmacists: a forgotten resource for palliative care
• Core palliative medicines Meeting the needs of non-complex community patients
• Exploring the community pharmacist’s role in palliative care: Focusing on the person not just the prescription
• Factors affecting access to subcutaneous medicines for people dying in the community
• Improving community access to terminal phase medicines in Australia: identification of the key considerations for the implementation of a ‘core medicines list’
• Medication use in aged care residents in the last year of life: A scoping review
• Piloting the role of a pharmacist in a community palliative care multidisciplinary team: an Australian experience
• The Roles and Responsibilities of Community Pharmacists Supporting Older People with Palliative Care Needs: A Rapid Review of the Literature

Advance Care Planning

• Statewide Office of Advance Care Planning – Queensland Health – Advance care planning information for consumers and health professionals.
• My Care My Choices Brochure
• My Care My Choices (other languages) Brochure
• Enduring Power of Attorney Factsheet
• Advance Health Directive Factsheet
• Statutory Health Attorney Factsheet

Useful Websites for Palliative Care Resources

• CareSearch palliative care knowledge network – Provides evidence-based information about palliative care for everyone (Consumers and Health Professionals)
• Care at the End of Life Project – Established to support a coordinated approach to improving end of life in Queensland. The Clinical Excellence Queensland has coordinated this project which aims at supporting clinicians dealing with death and dying in the health system, and caring for people of all ages as they face the end of their life. Please visit this website for access to a suite of resources
• End of Life Directions for Aged Care (ELDAC) – Provides information, guidance and resources to health professionals and aged care workers to support palliative care and advance care planning to improve the care of older Australians
• End of Life Law in Australia – Provides accurate and practical information to assist consumers and health professionals to navigate the challenging legal issues that can arise with end-of-life decision making
• Palliative Care Australia – National peak body for palliative care
• palliAGED – Palliative care evidence and practice information resource for the Australian aged care sector. Providing support for health and care practitioners as well as resource developers, and trustworthy information for older Australians, their families and friends
• palliAGED for Pharmacists – palliAGED has released pages to support pharmacists in caring for older Australians. The pages feature information and resources on the important role of pharmacists, managing medications, dosing guides, supporting caregivers, education and professional development, and more.
• Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach (PEPA) – A national palliative care project funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, that takes a strategic approach to education and training of the health workforce and delivers programs for priority health care provider groups, including pharmacists, across primary, secondary and tertiary settings.