Shared electronic care coordination systems following referral to hospice

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Palliative Care
• Health Services Research

Background:

• The Key Information Summary (KIS) is crucial for healthcare providers in Scotland to access patient data for out-of-hours decision-making.
• KISs originate in primary care and require input from various teams, including community specialist palliative care teams (CSPCTs), for accurate updates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the use and perceived value of KISs by community palliative care nurse specialists (CNSs).
• To explore CNSs' perspectives on the current KIS system and their potential involvement in updating patient information.

Main Methods:

• A service evaluation was conducted, involving a review of 44 new patient referrals to a CSPCT.
• Semi-structured interviews were carried out with CNSs to gather their views on KISs.
• Case notes were reviewed at referral and one month post-referral for patients with KISs.

Main Results:

• 77% of patients referred to the CSPCT had a KIS available.
• Following CNS assessments, 59% of KISs (n=17) were updated one month post-referral.
• CNSs identified anticipatory care planning (ACP) as the most beneficial KIS feature and expressed a desire for editing access.

Conclusions:

• CNSs find KISs valuable, particularly for anticipatory care planning.
• Granting CNSs KIS editing access could enhance care coordination and the completeness of ACP information.
• A system enabling CNSs to update KISs is likely to be well-received and beneficial for patient care.