Journal of palliative medicine
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The availability of smartphone applications has increased rapidly including applications related to palliative care. The scope of these available apps has not been synthesized. ⋯ The number of palliative care apps targeting clinicians has increased dramatically for the past five years. However, many apps did not report adequate information to judge the evidence upon which the apps were based.
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Comparative Study
Palliative Care Office Hours for Patients with Hematologic Malignancies: an Innovative Model for Symptom Management and Education.
Palliative care programs are experiencing rapid growth, with demand for consults surpassing staffing. Innovative models are needed to equip nonpalliative care providers to manage basic palliative care issues. ⋯ Office hours are an efficient way to address palliative care needs when demand for palliative care consults exceeds capacity. Office hours may serve an educational function as well, enabling primary teams to manage basic palliative care issues with increasing independence over time.
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People with serious illness frequently rely on religion/spirituality to cope with their diagnosis, with potentially positive and negative consequences. Clergy are uniquely positioned to help patients consider medical decisions at or near the end of life within a religious/spiritual framework. ⋯ Poor knowledge of EOL care may lead clergy to passively enable congregants with serious illness to pursue potentially nonbeneficial treatments that are associated with increased suffering.
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Red Blood Cell (RBC) transfusions are commonly used in palliative care. RBCs are a finite resource, transfusions carry risks, and the net effect (benefits and harms) is poorly defined for people with life-limiting illnesses. ⋯ In the largest prospective consecutive case series to date, clinicians generally reported benefit, with minimal harms. Ongoing work is required to define the optimal patient- and clinician-reported hematological and functional outcome measures to optimize the use of donor blood and to minimize transfusion-associated risk.