Palliative Care Resources for Health-Care Providers

Advance Care Planning (ACP)

• Hospice Palliative Care Ontario 
  • Improving Person-Centred Conversations 
  • Clinician ACP Conversation Guide
• Ariadne Labs - Serious Illness Conversation Guide

Early Identification, Prognostication, and Recognizing Decline

• Project Big Life: RESPECT tool - a quick algorithm calculator that estimates a frail person’s survival based on their health and ability to care for themselves
• Gold Standards Framework: Proactive Identification Guidance  - a 2-page tool with trajectories of illness, plus general and disease-specific indicators of decline
• Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool: SPICT Tool - one-page tool, identifies general and clinical indicators of decline 
• Seattle Heart Failure Model: Clinical Calculator - to predict survival in heart failure specifically  
• The Waiting Room Revolution: Illness Roadmaps - for health-care providers to help patients/caregivers understand what to expect at various stages of illness

Palliative Pain & Symptom Management

• Cancer Care Ontario: Edmonton Symptom Assessment System - revised
• Victoria Hospice: Palliative Performance Scale version 2
• Cancer Care Ontario: Guidelines to Managing Symptoms, Side Effects & Well-Being
• BC Centre for Palliative Care: Symptom Management Guidelines
• Pallium Canada: Palliative Pocketbook
  

Inpatient Palliative Care Unit and Hospice Residence

• Providence Care Hospital: Palliative Care Unit (PCU) - Heritage 2
• Providence Care: AB Smith Homestead House Hospice Residence

Resuscitation & Related Resources

• Palliative Pain & Symptom Management Consultation Program SWO: Algorithm for Informed Consent for a Plan of Treatment related to CPR & Completion of the DNR Confirmation Form
• CARENET: CPR Decision Aid for Patients and Their Families 
• Ontario Ministry of Health: To order copies of DNR Confirmation Form
• CorHealth Ontario: Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) Resources

Steps for End-of-Life Care and Expected Home Death

1. Refer to Ontario Health atHome - visit website
2. Determine Most Responsible Provider (MRP) for end-of-life care
3. Confirm plan for expected home death ("Yellow Folder" from Ontario Health atHome)
4. MRP to order Symptom Response Kit (SRK), if appropriate

Medical Certificate of Death 

• Government of Ontario form Medical Certificate of Death (MCOD)
• Two options to complete, certify and submit an MCOD:
  • Paper MCOD - complete by hand  or with fillable PDF), certify and provide original paper MCOD to the funeral director/crematorium; or
  • eMCOD - complete and certify the fillable eMCOD and submit electronically to the funeral director/crematorium via password protected email (save document only after entirely complete).

Grief & Bereavement Support

• Grief and Bereavement Resources in KFL&A: an extensive list of local, non-profit organizations, online grief supports, including resources for children and indigenous peoples, and more 

Electronic Medical Record Toolkit for TELUS PS Suite

• Amplify Care: visit their website to download the Palliative Care Toolkit for PSS users
• Amplify Care: visit our Custom Forms page to download the CFM files for PS Suite

OHIP Payments for Palliative Care Services

• Ontario Medical Association: Quick Reference Guide

Organizations (alphabetical)

• Bereavement Authority of Ontario: https://thebao.ca/
• Canadian Home Care Association: https://cdnhomecare.ca/
• Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association: https://www.chpca.ca/
• Canadian Virtual Hospice: https://www.virtualhospice.ca/en_US/Main+Site+Navigation/Home.aspx
• Champlain Hospice Palliative Care Program https://champlainpalliative.ca/  
• CorHealth Ontario: https://www.corhealthontario.ca/resources-for-healthcare-planners-&-providers
• Health Quality Ontario: https://www.hqontario.ca/Evidence-to-Improve-Care/Quality-Standards/View-all-Quality-Standards/Palliative-Care
• Hospice Palliative Care Consultation Services Waterloo Wellington: https://hpcconnection.ca/
• Hospice Palliative Care Ontario: https://www.hpco.ca/
• Ontario Health Palliative Care Program: https://ontariohealth.ca/clinical/palliative
• Pallium Canada: https://www.pallium.ca/
• Project Echo (Pallium Canada): https://www.echopalliative.com/
• The Waiting Room Revolution: https://www.waitingroomrevolution.com/

 

To learn about the FLA OHT Palliative Care Partnerships, visit their Priority Work page.