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Abstract: This study aims to determine the extent and nature of problems in palliative care that are newly identified in the consultation process and the factors influencing their identification. The consultation process includes clarification of problems mentioned by professionals requesting advice. Data are derived from the standard registration forms of Palliative Care Consultation teams. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was carried out with newly identified problem as dependent variable. Fifty seven percent of problems (n =7854) were newly identified. Most newly identified problems were related to physical and pharmacological problems. If psychosocial/spiritual problems were identified, this occurred in most cases through clarification (70%). Newly identified problems were more likely to be identified in the domain of spiritual and psychosocial problems, in bedside consultations, in requests from clinical physicians, and for patients accommodated in a hospice or hospital. Explicit clarification of problems facilitates the identification and addressing of a more comprehensive and specific scope of problems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Palliative Care Consultation (PCC) teams in The Netherlands give support to professional caregivers in palliative care. In contrast to many other countries, consultants only give advice. They do not give prescriptions. Most consultations are given by phone; in some, the consultant also visits the patient. For two years, the PCC teams registered all consultations prospectively on a standard registration form in a nationwide database. The aim of this study was to obtain more insight into the possible differences between telephone and bedsides consultations with regard to characteristics of consultants, requesting caregivers, and the patients, as well as the number and kind of problems discussed. The data demonstrate that bedside consultations show more variety in requesting caregivers and are conducted more often for patients. Bedside consultations also addressed a higher number of problems and a wider range of domains (e.g., psychological, spiritual, daily functioning, and support for informal caregivers). These results suggest that bedside consultations have a surplus value compared to telephone consultations. More rigorous study is needed to compare the relative merits of different methods of consultations in palliative care. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Palliative care in The Netherlands is mainly provided by generalist professionals who are part of the regular health care system. In order to provide good quality palliative care, they need options for training and consultation. Therefore, Palliative Care Consultation (PCC) teams were established, which inform, support, and advise professional caregivers involved with patients in palliative care without taking over responsibility. This study is the first nationwide study on PCC teams. Investigated was the nature and effect of consultations by registration and evaluation of consultations given by 19 PCC teams during a one-year period. Sixty-one percent of the requesting caregivers were primary care professionals and the problems discussed covered the entire field of palliative care, although physical problems played a dominant role. Although the patient was often not seen by the consultant, the consultant appeared to be able to identify more problems than initially discussed by the requesting professional. The types of problems discussed were hardly related to patient characteristics but more related to the discipline of the professional caregiver. According to the requesting professionals, consultation was helpful and contributed to improving the quality of palliative care. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]