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Development Rationale Elements |
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| How to Establish a Palliative Care Program | ||||
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Overview of CAPCManualWritten for the Internet
You are able to choose the depth to which you wish to explore an area. As you read the text, you will notice that various terms are underlined and in color indicating links to other sections in the manual or to key resources. When you choose to read through without choosing these links, you will be able to quickly cover the major points. Choosing a link permits you to go into more detail. Program Development Collaboration with a hospice program from the earliest stages of planning will be helpful. The strategic planning process tarts with establishing the mission and vision for the new palliative care program. The needs of the host organization, the program's likely customers, and the possible competitors and collaborators are considered as part of a needs assessment. This information will justify the need for the program to administrative leaders. The information collected during this process can also be used to evaluate the success of the program. A strategic plan will describe the design of the program and how it will meet the needs of the overall organization in which it will operate. It will indicate specific goals and objectives that the program will achieve as well as the strategies and tactics that will be used to achieve them. The plan will be used to gather support and permission for the program. The business plan will describe how the program will operate and how it will be financed. Successful palliative care programs have a broad view of their customers and use multiple revenue streams to support their activities. Standards of practice and policies and procedures will be developed to guide the implementation and operation of the new palliative care program. A number of norms of practice exist to guide these processes. A process of ongoing evaluation and review will guide modifications to the program and the development plan as it becomes established. Program Elements Consultation services see patients and their families anywhere in the hospital or health care system. They are variably comprised of physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains and others who make up the interdisciplinary consult team. They provide information to the primary team looking after the patient and manage portions or all of the care when asked. Where possible, they are developed in collaboration with hospice programs. Inpatient units care for patients for whom palliative care needs are complex and who require highly trained staff. These may be geographically based in hospitals or in "scatter" beds in the institution. Sometimes they are developed jointly or are contractually managed by a hospice program. Care for patients at home may be provided through ambulatory outpatient clinics, home care agencies, hospice programs, or by home visits from physicians and others. These elements are financed through existing healthcare funding mechanisms. In order to develop a strategy for financing a new palliative care program, it can be helpful to have a general understanding of how healthcare is financed. Then, specific ways that this system can be used to finance a palliative care program in an individual hospital can be developed. Rationale for Palliative Care Programs
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