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National Consensus Project's Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, Fourth Edition: Why is This
George F Handzo1, Mary-Margaret Atkinson2, Susan K Wintz3
1Health Services Research & Quality, HealthCare Chaplaincy Network: Caring For The Human SpiritTM, New York, New York.
Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy
|March 28, 2019
Summary
The latest Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care now officially include chaplains. These guidelines emphasize integrating palliative care principles into routine practice for all healthcare professionals, including chaplains, to address patient suffering.
Area of Science:
- Palliative Care
- Healthcare Professional Training
- Clinical Practice Guidelines
Background:
- The Association of Professional Chaplains and HealthCare Chaplaincy Network were involved in guideline development for the first time.
- Previous guidelines did not include official chaplaincy representation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize the content of the fourth edition of the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care.
- To discuss the implications of these guidelines for clinical practice and training, particularly for professional chaplains.
Main Methods:
- Review and summary of the recently published Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, fourth edition.
- Analysis of the guidelines' impact on healthcare professionals, with a focus on chaplains.
Main Results:
- The guidelines mandate the integration of core palliative care principles by all healthcare professionals for patients with serious illness.
- Professional chaplains are now official participants in guideline development and are expected to assess patients and address suffering.
Conclusions:
- The inclusion of chaplains marks a significant advancement in palliative care guideline development.
- The guidelines necessitate enhanced training for chaplains to effectively integrate palliative care into their practice and address patient suffering.