Palliative Care

Editor's Note: Is there a difference between hospice and end of life care? In this interview, Dr. Maria Goddard MD, CWS, FAPWCA sheds light on 3 misconceptions in treating the geriatric population as well as some strategies she uses in her practice.

By Rick Hall, BA, RN, CWON Wound care documentation is a hot topic with overseeing agencies dealing with the medical industry. Good documentation is imperative to protect all those giving care to patients. Documentation should be Legible, Accurate, Whole, Substantiated, Unaltered, Intelligible and Timely. If these components are not incorporated into your wound care documentation, you could end up in a LAWSUIT.

By Michael Miller DO, FACOS, FAPWCA, WCC A friend and colleague is going to die. This of itself is not news as the process of dying unquestionably begins from the moment of conception. This case is perhaps a bit sadder and more morose than many. As health care providers, we relish in the success of prolongation of life. The birth of a baby, healing after an illness and returning to our usual lives, the successful healing of a wound of longevity and strife. And yet the measurement of successful healing, like the measurement of a successful life, is one defined by an infinite number of parameters from an infinite number of opinions.

By Aletha Tippett MD Assessment of the individual for palliative wound care is not much different from the assessment for any wound patient. Initial questions that that should be asked in your assessment include:

By Aletha Tippett MD In considering this question as to whether amputation can be palliative, let’s keep clear that these are two separate subjects that sometimes interact. It is key to always keep our goals in mind. What is the goal in palliative care? The goals are to provide comfort, relieve pain, prevent infection, and improve or maintain quality of life. These goals are always to be in concert with the desires and wishes of the individual patient.

By Holly Hovan MSN, APRN, CWOCN-AP A fistula is an abnormal opening between two areas that typically shouldn't be connected, or with an epithelialized tract. An example is an opening from the bowel to the abdominal wall, termed enteroatmospheric or enterocutaneous (the terms are sometimes used interchangeably) because this fistula is exposed to the atmosphere, or is open from the abdomen to the skin, and typically needs to be pouched or some type of containment of the effluent.

By Aletha Tippett MD For over a decade now I have treated wounds in palliative care patients and non-palliative care patients. The “funny” thing is that there is no difference in how I treat these wounds, all are approached the same way, with similar treatments used. As I teach more and more about palliative wound care, it seems obvious to me that all wounds and all people deserve this approach. Who does not deserve less pain? Who deserves to be embarrassed by wound odor? Who deserves to have an infection? Who deserves a lesser quality of life? When asked these questions I would think the answer would be NO ONE.

By Mary Ellen Posthauer RDN, CD, LD, FAND Recently there have been numerous articles and webinars focusing on the methods health care professional can employ to effectively communicate and engage in end of life conversations with patients receiving palliative and/or hospice care.

By Aletha Tippett, MD There is lots in store for the new year, and a great many wound care conferences just chock-full of information. There is one conference this year that you may not know about—small, quiet, highly informative and productive. That is the 2015 Palliative Wound Care Conference that will be held in Orlando, Florida, in May this year.