title: Problem solving by telephone in palliative care: use of a predetermined assessment tool within a program of home care technology.
abstract: In the Rotterdam Cancer Institute, nurses from the palliative care unit take care of accessibility outside office hours for patients transferred home with technical equipment for symptoms control. The nurses use a predetermined assessment tool (PAT) for handling telephone calls. A retrospective evaluation on the registration forms used over the years 1997-1999 was performed to evaluate the telephone service. A total of 124 patients in need of technical support was transferred from the hospital during the study period: 52 in 1997, 33 in 1998, and 39 in 1999. Over the years, 157 calls were registered from 64 (52%) patients. In 1997, the majority of the calls (73%) came from the patient or the family. The frequency of calls from the general practitioner did not change, but calls from the district nurse increased from 12% in 1997 to 35% in 1998, and 48% in 1999. Professionals working in nursing homes have used the telephone service since 1998. The reasons for calling were pain (40%), symptoms other than pain (19%), technical problems (33%), general information and advice (6%), and logistic problems (2%). In 152 of the 157 telephone calls (97%), problems could be solved without admission. The mean time to answer a call was 16 minutes. The telephone service and the use of the PAT made it possible to solve 97% of problems without admission.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Rotterdam Cancer Institute/University Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Elfrink
authors.forename: C C D
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: van der Rijt
authors.forename: R J J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: van Boxtel
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Elswijk-de Vries
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van Zuijlen
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stoter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing*; D009426:Netherlands; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D010146:Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011340:Problem Solving; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013689:Telephone