Institute for pulmonary diseases of Vojvodina, Sremska Kamenica
Serbia
Development of clear pathway for palliative care service for LC and COPD management
Background
Institute for pulmonary diseases of Vojvodina (IPBV) is a health care institution responsible for treatment of lung cancer (LC) and COPD patients. There are approximately 1.500 newly diagnosed LC patients with more than 3.000 hospitalizations and over 7.000 outpatient visits per year. About 80% of them are in late stage of the disease. About 20% out of 2.000 hospitalized and more than 4.000 outpatient COPD patients suffer from a life-limiting condition. There is no established clear pathway for integration of palliative care into LC and COPD management in IPBV.
Aim
Improvement of multi-professional care for LC and COPD patients at IPBV through development of pathway for new palliative care service.
Methods / process
Multi-professional and interdisciplinary LC and COPD teams of experts will be established and conduct research of scientific papers regarding trigger mechanisms for early referral to palliative care. Retrospective research based on institutional database will be done. Map of patients’ and family/caregivers’ needs will be made as well as visualisation of a new palliative care service. Clear pathway for palliative care service will be developed. Supportive IT service will be established. Education of medical and non-medical staff about new service and clear referral pathway will be prepared.
Intended outputs / impact
Establishing the clear pathway for early referral of LC and COPD patients to palliative care service will improve disease management. Early integration of palliative care into regular practice will adequately support patients and their family/caregivers. Implementation of new palliative care service will be beneficial for all those involved in care of LC and COPD patients: first of all for patients and caregivers by improvement of care and support, for medical staff by providing the adequate support, securing better time management and for stakeholders by securing “step-up” and optimization of time- management.