Outcomes From a Patient-Centered, Interprofessional, Palliative Consult Team in Oncology.

Background: Palliative care aims to improve suffering and quality of life for patients with life-limiting disease. This study evaluated an interdisciplinary palliative consultation team for outpatients with advanced cancer at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre. This team traditionally offered palliative medicine and recently integrated a specialized psychosocial clinician. Historic patient-reported clinical outcomes were reviewed. There were no a priori hypotheses. Methods: A total of 180 chart reviews were performed in 8 sample months in 2015 and 2016; 114 patients were included. All patients were referred for management of complex cancer symptomatology by oncology or palliative care clinicians. Patients attended initial interviews in person; palliative medicine follow-ups were largely performed by telephone, and psychosocial appointments were conducted in person for those who were interested and had psychosocial concerns. Chart review included collection of demographics, medical information, and screening for distress measures at referral, initial consult, and discharge. Results: A total of 51% of the patient sample were men, 81% were living with a partner, and 87% had an advanced cancer diagnosis. Patients were grouped based on high, moderate, or low scores for 5 symptoms (pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, and well-being). High scores on all 5 symptoms decreased from referral to discharge. Pain and anxiety decreased in the moderate group. All 5 low scores increased significantly. Sleep, frustration/anger, sense of burdening others, and sensitivity to cold were less frequently endorsed by discharge. Conclusions: Patients who completed this interdisciplinary palliative consult service appeared to experience a reduction in their most severe symptoms. Visits to patients during existing appointments or having them attend a half-day clinic appears to have reached those referred. With interdisciplinary integration, clinicians are able to collaborate to address patient care needs. Considerations include how to further integrate palliative and psychosocial care to achieve additional benefits and ongoing monitoring of changes in symptom burden.

Methadone for Pain Management: Past, Present and Future.

Methadone for pain management in this article describes briefly pain, methadone as a Level 3 World Health Organization ladder opioid in the context of India and rest of the world, as well as the relationship to past, present, and future possibilities of pain management. Acute pain is proportional to the injury most of the times, and such proportionality may not exist in chronic pain. Pain management over decades has changed because of knowledge and availability of molecules and compounds to reduce chronic pain. Naturally occurring opioids from "poppy" such as morphine and heroin were available through cultivation and trade for pain management and recreational use in different parts of the world for centuries. Methadone has been a synthetic molecule discovered in the 1930s in Germany. It has been used for harm reduction for opioid use disorder in the form of "methadone maintenance treatment". This program exists since the 1950s while pain management started around the late 1970s in Europe and North America. More recently, the knowledge of acute and chronic pain at a molecular level, including ion channel modification, allowed the use of coanalgesics and opioids prudently. The concept of "total pain, neuroplasticity, and neurotransmitters" how they could be modified for better pain management with pharmaceuticals and nonpharmacological methods are being investigated, and evidence is being practiced clinically. In the present context, education for physicians, allied health professionals, patients, and family caregivers is important. Education to the physicians can skill and capacity build in the community and can be associated with educational research and peer-reviewed publications. The future remains promising, as innovations such as pharmacogenomics, nanotechnology, molecular, and quantum biology may create evidence, along with physical and psychological rehabilitation, to prevent and holistically better pain management.

Practical Guide for Using Methadone in Pain and Palliative Care Practice.

Since the 2014 Amendment to the NDPS Act methadone has been released in India for pain management. The methadone is supplied as racemic mixture with R & S methadone with benefit in pain management and associated adverse effects. Physicians need to be aware of adverse effects so that methadone can be administered safely. Similarly, patients and families need to store and use methadone carefully and experience the benefits and not increase the risk of further morbidity. Considerable amount of literature on methadone is available and sometimes conflicting, hence the article is attempting to guide a physician to use methadone safely to acquire experience and expertise over time.

When to Use Methadone for pain: A Case-Based Approach.

The case studies are written in this article to illustrate how methadone might be used for pain in the Indian context. These cases might be used for discussion in a multidisciplinary team, or for individual study. It is important to understand that pain requires a multidisciplinary approach as opioids will assist only with physical, i.e. neuropathic and nociceptive pain, but not emotional, spiritual, or relational pain or the pain of immobility. The social determinants of pain were included to demonstrate how emotional, relational, and psychological dimensions of pain amplify the physical aspects of pain. The case studies follow a practical step-wise approach to pain while undergoing cancer treatment, pain toward the end-of-life and needing longer acting opioid. Methadone in children, and methadone in conditions of opioid toxicity or where there is a need for absorption in the proximal intestine cases are included.

Challenges of Using Methadone in the Indian Pain and Palliative Care Practice.

Palliative care providers across India lobbied to gain access to methadone for pain relief and this has finally been achieved. Palliative care activists will count on the numerous strengths for introducing methadone in India, including the various national and state government initiatives that have been introduced recognizing the importance of palliative care as a specialty in addition to improving opioid accessibility and training. Adding to the support are the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), the medical fraternity and the international interactive and innovative programs such as the Project Extension for Community Health Outcome. As compelling as the need for methadone is, many challenges await. This article outlines the challenges of procuring methadone and also discusses the challenges specific to methadone. Balancing the availability and diversion in a setting of opioid phobia, implementing the amended laws to improve availability and accessibility in a country with diverse health-care practices are the major challenges in implementing methadone for relief of pain. The unique pharmacology of the drug requires meticulous patient selection, vigilant monitoring, and excellent communication and collaboration with a multidisciplinary team and caregivers. The psychological acceptance of the patient, the professional training of the team and the place where care is provided are also challenges which need to be overcome. These challenges could well be the catalyst for a more diligent and vigilant approach to opioid prescribing practices. Start low, go slow could well be the way forward with caregiver education to prescribe methadone safely in the Indian palliative care setting.

Primary-level palliative care national capacity: Pallium Canada.

The need to improve access to palliative care across many settings of care for patients with cancer and non-cancer illnesses is recognised. This requires primary-level palliative care capacity, but many healthcare professionals lack core competencies in this area. Pallium Canada, a non-profit organisation, has been building primary-level palliative care at a national level since 2000, largely through its Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative Care (LEAP) education programme and its compassionate communities efforts. From 2015 to 2019, 1603 LEAP course sessions were delivered across Canada, reaching 28 123 learners from different professions, including nurses, physicians, social workers and pharmacists. This paper describes the factors that have accelerated and impeded spread and scale-up of these programmes. The need for partnerships with local, provincial and federal governments and organisations is highlighted. A social enterprise model, that involves diversifying sources of revenue to augment government funding, enhances long-term sustainability. Barriers have included Canada's geopolitical realities, including large geographical area and thirteen different healthcare systems. Some of the lessons learned and strategies that have evolved are potentially transferrable to other jurisdictions.

Reflecting on Palliative Care Integration in Canada: A Qualitative Report.

Studies have identified integrated interdisciplinary care as a hallmark of effective palliative care. Although models attempt to show how integration may function, there is little literature available that practically explores how integration is fostered and maintained. In this study we asked palliative care clinicians across Canada to comment on how services are integrated across the healthcare system. This is an analysis of qualitative data from a larger study, wherein clinicians provided written responses regarding their experiences. Content analysis was used to identify response categories. Clinicians (n = 14) included physicians, a nurse and a social worker from six provinces. They identified the benefits of formalized relationships and collaboration pathways with other services to streamline referral and consultation. Clinicians perceived a need for better training of residents and primary care physicians in the community and more acceptance, shared understanding, and referrals. Clinicians also described integrating well with oncology departments. Lastly, clinicians considered integration a complex process with departmental, provincial, and national involvement. The needs and strengths identified by the clinicians mirror the qualities of successfully integrated palliative care programs globally and highlight specific areas in policy, education, practice, and research that could benefit those in Canada.

Missing in Action: Reports of Interdisciplinary Integration in Canadian Palliative Care.

Palliative care has an interdisciplinary tradition and Canada is a leader in its research and practice. Yet even in Canada, a full interdisciplinary complement is often lacking, with psychosocial presence ranging from 0-67.4% depending on the discipline and region. We sought to examine the most notable gaps in care from the perspective of Canadian palliative professionals. Canadian directors of palliative care programs were surveyed with respect to interdisciplinary integration. Participants responded in writing or by phone interview. We operationalized reports of interdisciplinary professions as either "present" or "under/not-represented". The Vaismoradi, Turunen, and Bondas' procedure was used for content analysis. Our 14 participants consisted of physicians (85.7%), nurses (14.3%), and a social worker (7.1%) from Ontario (35.7%), British Columbia (14.3%), Alberta (14.3%), Quebec (14.3%), Nova Scotia (14.3%), and New Brunswick (7.1%). Psychology and social work were equally and most frequently reported as "under/not represented" (5/14, each). All participants reported the presence of medical professionals (physicians and nurses) and these groups were not reported as under/not represented. Spiritual care and others (e.g., rehabilitation and volunteers) were infrequently reported as "under/not represented". Qualitative themes included Commonly Represented Disciplines, Quality of Multidisciplinary Collaboration, Commonly Under-Represented Disciplines, and Special Concern: Psychosocial Care. Similar to previous reports, we found that (1) psychology was under-represented yet highly valued and (2) despite social work's relative high presence in care, our participants reported a higher need for more. These finding highlight those psychosocial gaps in care are most frequently noted by palliative care professionals, especially psychology and social work. We speculate on barriers and enablers to addressing this need.

Ultralow-Dose Adjunctive Methadone with Slow Titration, Considering Long Half-Life, for Outpatients with Cancer-Related Pain.

Background: The unique properties of methadone make it attractive for use in cancer pain. The use of very low initial doses of adjunctive methadone is a promising strategy given its simplicity and potentially reduced risk profile. Objective: To understand if an ultralow-dose (ULD) methadone protocol (1 mg by mouth daily initial dose with gradual titration) can improve pain control in outpatients with cancer-related pain not responsive to previous opioids and/or nonopioid analgesics. We also sought to assess if the use of ULD methadone resulted in improvement in mood and sleep among other outcomes. Design and Setting/Subjects: This study is a retrospective chart review of outpatients at the cancer pain clinic at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Measurements: The mean ratings in maximum and average pain before methadone initiation, and at the final follow-up point are reported. Paired sample t tests evaluate for statistically significant differences in pain ratings before methadone initiation and at final follow-up. We also report the proportion of participants with a subjective improvement in pain, sleep, and mood (dichotomous "yes/no"), and the mean number of weeks to initial documented pain improvement. Results: 68.6% of patients (24/34) reported a subjective improvement in pain. Most patients reported improved sleep and mood (78.8% and 64.7%, respectively). Conclusions: More than two-thirds of patients reported an improvement in pain with a protocol using very low initial doses of adjunctive methadone. Our report is a preliminary retrospective chart review and larger prospective trials are warranted.