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Palliative medicine represents the holistic multiprofessional treatment of severely and incurably ill people and their relatives, addressing their complex physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs. The central therapeutic goals are the quality of life and alleviation of suffering. In the course of many neurological diseases, high symptom burden, long and variable trajectories and unfavorable prognosis at times create a need for palliative care even at an early stage, which is currently still inadequately met. This can be countered by qualified neuropalliative care. In addition to intensifying interdisciplinary collaboration, this requires neurologists to have core competencies in palliative care. These include a team-oriented attitude, communication skills, expertise in symptom control and knowledge of biomedical ethics including palliative options at the end of life., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)

Introduction: Anticancer therapies gain increasing attention and discussion in specialized palliative care institutions. Frequency, indication, attitude of team members, and modes of these therapies implemented in specialized palliative care settings are still under investigation. Methods: Descriptive analysis of the nationwide Hospice and Palliative Care Evaluation 2007 that collected data from palliative medicine, hospice care, and oncology institutions concerning the use of anticancer therapies. Results: Three thousand one hundred eighty-four patients from 67 palliative care units, eight oncology wards, and other in- and outpatient institutions were registered. Two hundred eleven therapeutic interventions, mostly i.v. chemotherapy (28.9%), have been documented in all institutions except from inpatient hospices. Although all institutions were asked to keep records from 'palliative patients', those patients treated in oncology services differed from patients on palliative care units with respect to prognosis, therapeutic intention (symptom control versus tumor remission), and team attitude. Discussion: Anticancer therapies are incorporated into palliative care concepts. The described differences in palliative patients that are treated in specialized palliative care as compared to oncology services will have to be discussed with regard to selection of patients for specialized palliative care and the range of suitable treatment modalities in palliative care concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To investigate the development in palliative care education in Germany, numerous surveys have been conducted since 2006. They showed differences of palliative care education between the faculties before and after the implementation of palliative care as a mandatory subject. The present study aims to document the status of palliative care education at German medical faculties in 2018., Materials and Methods: Using an online questionnaire with 19 questions, the structure, organization, content, and assessment of palliative care education of German medical faculties were assessed., Results: Of the 37 participating faculties, 30 reported improvements in terms of structural aspects, e.g., there were more palliative care units and full professorships. Due to increasing opportunities for final year rotations and innovative, practical teaching, students can now deepen their knowledge, skills, and attitude in palliative care., Conclusion: This study showed clear progression in palliative care education. Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement in terms of examination formats and professorships. Complementary surveys with students would be helpful to evaluate the education outcome., (© 2021. Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)

Background: The effect of integrating clinical pharmacists in German palliative care units with regard to the quality of drug therapy and drug costs has yet not been evaluated., Objectives: This work aims to assess the number of pharmaceutical interventions (PI) and the cost-benefit ratio of a clinical pharmacist taking part in the interprofessional patient care team on an inpatient palliative care unit in Germany., Methods: The number of and underlying reasons for the pharmacist-led recommendations were recorded and analyzed over a 1-year period. In addition, the respective drugs and the acceptance rate of recommendations were assessed. To evaluate the cost-benefit ratio, the financial savings in the provision of drugs were recorded and compared with the expenses for the clinical pharmacy service., Results: A total of 245 PI were performed. Most frequently, the pharmacist advised physicians on drug choices and drug dosages. The acceptance rate was 93%. The cost savings in the provision of drugs covered 83% of the expenses for the clinical pharmacy service., Conclusion: The results indicate that the integration of a clinical pharmacist is well suited to optimizing the interprofessional treatment of distressing symptoms with a beneficial economic outcome in palliative care. Consequently, the permanent integration of a clinical pharmacist on an inpatient palliative care unit seems to be beneficial and advisable.