The Hospice Companion is designed to promote, establish, maintain and continuously improve comprehensive systems of care that ensure the highest quality of services to meet the needs of patients and their families during the last phase of life. On behalf of their patients, all hospice providers must inculcate processes of care that lead to maximal comfort and functional capacities, and a sense of being valued throughout the final stages of any chronic and progressive illness. The values embodied in The Hospice Companion reflect a commitment to these premises: -The dying patient's achievable goals are the highest priority of care. -Family preferences are respected and supported whenever possible. -All terminally ill patients and their families deserve access to hospice care. -Ongoing investment to advance the art and science of palliative care is a moral imperative. -The spirit of Hospice as the most humanistic form of care at the end of life must be continually nurtured through interdisciplinary work. More than ever it is incumbent upon those who provide care to those with life-limiting illnesses to be keenly aware of both the extent and the limits of the technological advances that can add either great burden or great benefit to seriously ill patients and their families. The Hospice Companion has been created to operationalize the mission and values of modern-day Hospice through the individual and combined efforts of our most valuable asset, the Hospice professional. The title word 'Companion' was expressly chosen for the profound meaning it suggests: that companionship, in the many forms it can take, is the key ingredient to care. This book represents the practical embodiment of the basic, fundamental elements of care, through a focus on common problems confronting patients, their families, and their caregivers. The Hospice Companion is intended as a guide through which some mastery over the seemingly complex, challenging, and oftentimes chaotic world of advanced disease may be derived. Use of this 'tool' to direct processes of care during the intense interpersonal experiences of hospice work should allow the greatest opportunity for personal and professional growth and a deeply gratifying sense of accomplishment as you proceed in the all-important work of caring for the dying.
Opioid Management Tools and Tips provides health professionals with basic guidance, tools, and resources for identifying patients who may be at risk for opioid misuse and effective managing the risk of abuse, addiction, and diversion.
The Hospice Companion is a guide to the processes of care during the intensive, interpersonal experiences of hospice work. This resource highlights the mission and values of modern-day hospice through the individual and combined efforts of the field's most valuable asset, the hospice professional. This easy-to-navigate clinical decision support tool for caregivers of those with life-limiting illnesses allows for personal and professional growth and a deeply gratifying sense of accomplishment as you proceed in the all-important work of caring for the dying. The third edition of The Hospice Companion features a thoroughly current guide to clinical processes and symptom management, providing hospice professionals with a concise summary of changes that have influenced clinical practice over the last several years. Moreover, feedback from hospice social workers has been incorporated into the section on personal, social, and environmental processes and guidance on integrative and non-pharmacologic interventions have been added.
Breakthrough pain (BTP) is episodic pain that emerges through the treatment of otherwise well-managed chronic background pain. Often called pain flare or transient pain, BTP negatively affects the function and quality of life of the patient and often results in a number of other physical, psychological and social problems. Breakthrough pain is a common occurrence affecting approximately two-thirds of the estimated 50 to 100 million chronic pain sufferers in the US. It can have multiple causes with various pathophysiologies, and can present with numerous clinical features and complications. The clinical features vary from individual to individual, and may vary within an individual over time. The successful management of breakthrough pain depends on proper assessment, treatment, and reassessment. Inadequate assessment can lead to ineffective or inappropriate treatment. Similarly, inadequate reassessment may lead to continuance of ineffective or even harmful treatment. In recent years, the need to educate physicians about pain management has been garnering increased attention from prominent medical associations and the media. Despite ongoing efforts to improve pain treatment, however, the need persists for evidence-based educational materials for physicians in the area of pain diagnosis and management. Part of the Oxford American Pain Library, this highly practical guide covers current approaches and new developments in the assessment and management of Breakthrough Pain, including both cancer-related pain and non-cancer chronic pain. It addresses the roles of opioid and non-opioid pharmacotherapy and presents non-pharmacologic interventions, as well. This concise yet comprehensive reference on Breakthrough Pain is ideal for palliative care doctors, anesthesiologists, pain medicine specialists and oncologists, as well as for primary care physicians and internists on the frontlines of care.
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