Palliative care phase code N

Representational attributes

Collection and usage attributes

The palliative care phase is the stage of the palliative care patient’s illness.

CODE 1   Stable

Patient problems and symptoms are adequately controlled by established plan of care and

• Further interventions to maintain symptom control and quality of life have been planned and
• Family/carer situation is relatively stable and no new issues are apparent.

CODE 2   Unstable

An urgent change in the plan of emergency treatment is required because

• Patient experiences a new problem that was not anticipated in the existing plan of care, and/or
• Patient experiences a rapid increase in the severity of a current problem; and/or
• Family/ carers circumstances change suddenly impacting on patient care.

CODE 3   Deteriorating

The care plan is addressing anticipated needs but requires periodic review because

• Patients overall functional status is declining and
• Patient experiences a gradual worsening of existing problemand/or
• Patient experiences a new but anticipated problem and/or
• Family/carers experience gradual worsening distress that impacts on the patient care.

CODE 4   Terminal

Death is likely within days.

CODE 9   Not reported

The phase of the illness has not been reported.

Palliative care phases are not sequential and a patient may move back and forth between phases. Palliative care phases provide a clinical indication of the type of care required and have been shown to correlate strongly with survival within longitudinal prospective studies.

Source and reference attributes

Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration 2014. Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration Clinical Manual. Australian Health Services Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Sydney. Viewed 19 May 2016, http://ahsri.uow.edu.au/content/groups/public/@web/@chsd/@pcoc/
documents/doc/uow129133.pdf

Relational attributes