A recent blog post from the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) discusses many of the assessment tools used in palliative care. Assessment tools “not only help in making informed and objective clinical decisions but also ensure that care is tailored to each individual patient’s preferences and circumstances.” One also needs to use clinical judgment and consider how cognition, culture and social determinants of health can impact a patient’s response and how the tool should be interpreted. Assessment tools are best used to monitor a patient over time. Here is a table from the CAPC Blog to help you identify what assessment tool is commonly used, its benefits and some of its limitations to consider as you use the tool.
* Self-reporting can be difficult for people with advanced dementia and cultural differences can impact how symptoms present or are reported. Use non-verbal language in assessment
South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations (SDAHO) is a proud member of the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), the nation’s leading resource dedicated to increasing the availability of quality health care for people living with a serious illness. CAPC is offering a 15% discounted membership rate to SDAHO members. CAPC members receive exclusive access to technical assistance and clinical training through a robust online course curriculum with free continuing education credits; call-in consulting with national experts in the palliative care field; hundreds of ready-to-use tools and resources; webinars on common topics; and a vibrant, collaborative community of health care professionals working with people living with a serious illness. One CAPC membership provides an organization’s entire staff with full access to CAPC training, tools, and expert resources. Learn more at capc.org or contact the CAPC membership team at membership@capc.org or 626-599-3730.
