Article Text
Abstract
Introduction The percentage of people with a key information summary (KIS) or an anticipatory care plan (ACP) at the time of death can act as an indicator of access to palliative care. Key information summaries (KIS) introduced throughout Scotland in 2013, are shared electronic patient records which contain essential information relevant to a patient’s care including palliative care. There is now a need to examine current levels of KIS generation and ACP documentation in the last months of life to assess progress and review barriers and facilitators to sharing patient information across settings and to inform out-of-hours care.
Aims
To estimate the extent and timing of KIS and ACP generation for people who die with an advanced progressive condition and to compare with our previous study (Tapsfield et al. 2016).
To explore GP experiences of commencing and updating a KIS; and their perspectives on what works well and what can be improved in supporting this process.
Methods A mixed methods study consisting of a retrospective review of the electronic records of all patients who died in 16 Scottish general practices in 2017 and semi-structured interviews with 16 GPs.
Results Quantitative and qualitative data collection is in progress.
Conclusion Findings will describe current levels of KIS and ACP documentation for people who die in Scotland. We will synthesize GP experiences of KIS use and describe the essential components of an ACP that need to be documented to enable good palliative care across settings including emergency and out-of-hours care.
Reference
. Tapsfield J, Hall C, Lunan C, McCutheon H, McLoughlin P, Rhee J, Rus A, Spiller J, Finucane AM, Murray SA. Many people in Scotland now benefit from anticipatory care before they die: An after death analysis and interviews with general practitioners. BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care2016. doi:10.1136/bmjspcare-2015-001014