Problem solving by telephone in palliative care: use of a predetermined assessment tool within a program of home care technology

In the Rotterdam Cancer Institute, nurses from the palliative care unit take care of accessibility outside office hours for patients transferred home with technical equipment for symptoms control. The nurses use a predetermined assessment tool (PAT) for handling telephone calls. A retrospective eval...

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Published inJournal of palliative care Vol. 18; no. 2; pp. 105 - 110
Main Authors Elfrink, E J, van der Rijt, C C D, van Boxtel, R J J, Elswijk-de Vries, P, van Zuijlen, L, Stoter, G
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.06.2002
Subjects
Adult
Aged
Female
Home Care Services
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Neoplasms - nursing
Netherlands
Nursing Assessment
Pain - prevention & control
Palliative Care - methods
Problem Solving
Retrospective Studies
Telephone
Netherlands
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Summary:In the Rotterdam Cancer Institute, nurses from the palliative care unit take care of accessibility outside office hours for patients transferred home with technical equipment for symptoms control. The nurses use a predetermined assessment tool (PAT) for handling telephone calls. A retrospective evaluation on the registration forms used over the years 1997-1999 was performed to evaluate the telephone service. A total of 124 patients in need of technical support was transferred from the hospital during the study period: 52 in 1997, 33 in 1998, and 39 in 1999. Over the years, 157 calls were registered from 64 (52%) patients. In 1997, the majority of the calls (73%) came from the patient or the family. The frequency of calls from the general practitioner did not change, but calls from the district nurse increased from 12% in 1997 to 35% in 1998, and 48% in 1999. Professionals working in nursing homes have used the telephone service since 1998. The reasons for calling were pain (40%), symptoms other than pain (19%), technical problems (33%), general information and advice (6%), and logistic problems (2%). In 152 of the 157 telephone calls (97%), problems could be solved without admission. The mean time to answer a call was 16 minutes. The telephone service and the use of the PAT made it possible to solve 97% of problems without admission.
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ISSN:0825-8597
2369-5293
DOI:10.1177/082585970201800206