Digital Health News

Following the Waterloo Wellington Integrated Hospice Palliative Care Regional Program Early Identification & Prognostic Indicator Guide, adapted from the Gold Standards Framework (GSF), the Palliative EMR toolkit was developed to assist primary care providers (PCP) in earlier identification of patients nearing the end of life, who could benefit from a palliative approach to care.

Prompted by the Surprise Question, based on general and specific indicators detailed in the GSF (i.e. “Would you be surprised if the patient were to die within the next year?”), the PCP is provided decision support in assessing the palliative needs of the patient and is then provided with the appropriate Waterloo Wellington resources, relative to the patient’s current Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) phase.

Highlights of the tool include that it:

• Is designed to assist PCPs in the early identification of patients nearing the end of life and/or who could benefit from a palliative care approach
• Follows the Waterloo Wellington Integrated Hospice Palliative Care Regional Program Early Identification & Prognostic Indicator Guide (“Would you be surprised if the patient were to die within the next year?”)
• Provides easy billing for a palliative visit (K023) and details additional bonuses
• Provides local resources that are appropriate for the current Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) phase of the patient
• Available for Telus PS Suite EMR

Examples of resources available within the Palliative Care Tool:

• Patient goal planning
• Local referrals to hospice services
• LHIN resources
• Substitute Decision Maker (SDM)
• Conversation guides
• Community supports

In cases where the patient’s current needs would not be fulfilled through the palliative approach to care, the PCP is provided with Advance Care Planning tools that allow them to customize a reassessment date where the Surprise Question can be asked again.

Billing

The Palliative Visit Form (Image on the right) provides a framework for PCPs to properly document and bill palliative visits in a variety of scenarios. Billing can be as simple as documenting a K023 for an office palliative visit greater than 20 minutes. More complex visits, such as house visits with added special visit premiums, can also be documented.

Additional incentives, such as the Special Premium Bonus for having 4 or more patients with a billed K023, are also detailed within the tool.

The Palliative Care Toolkit is available in Telus Practice Solutions in two ways: As a button, added to an existing toolbar or as a stand-alone toolbar.

For more information on how to obtain the Palliative Care Toolkit please contact Justin Wolting.