Multidisciplinary Collaboration in Palliative Care in Primary Care: Delivering Appropriate Care in Patients’ Preferred Setting

In palliative home care, general practitioners and district nurses work together, but allied health professionals are still seldom involved. As a result, care does not always align well with what patients need. 

Aim and approach

In this project, palliative home care groups (PaTz-groups) were expanded to include these care providers. We explored what patients, relatives, and care professionals expect from this collaboration and how they experience it.

Results

Participants value that care providers know each other better and can communicate more quickly. However, patients do not always notice improvements in care coordination and are often unaware that collaboration is taking place. Continuity and coordination of care appear largely unchanged.

Nevertheless, the broader composition of the PaTz-groups supports discussing patients across all dimensions of palliative care. For sustainable improvement, clear roles, a central care provider, better information sharing, and a learning-oriented culture are needed.