Selected items from the News and Latest Additions sections of www.palliativedrugs.com , the world’s leading palliative care website. Drug Updates Clarifying dexamethasone prescribing The British National Formulary now recommends prescribing of dexamethasone injection as dexamethasone base. This follows recent changes to the labeling of both UK dexamethasone injection products (Organon product, 2003 and Hospira product […]
Latest articles
Launch of Palliative Care Funding Review could result in a fairer funding system for end of life care
An independent Palliative Care Funding Review released today recommends to the Government the introduction of the first ever palliative care funding structure in England, which could save the NHS up to £180 million per year and result in better care for patients at the end of life. The Review found that of the 457,000 people […]
Des Spence asks, are we in denial?
Des Spence, in his BMJ ‘From the Frontline’ piece, asks the question, “Assisted dying: are doctors in denial?” It turns out that, rather than being for or against legalisation of physician assisted suicide, Des suggests a third, pragmatic position. He suggests that doctors routinely withhold treatment and shorten patients’ lives with the use of large […]
New resource aims to advance measurement in palliative care
Patients are set to benefit from the new Palliative Care Outcome Scale (POS), a tool developed to assist clinicians, researchers and other healthcare workers in measuring physical symptoms; psychological, emotional and spiritual needs; and provision of information and support at the end of life. Developed by Professor Irene J Higginson, POS is a free resource […]
News and updates from palliativedrugs.com
Selected items from the News and Latest Additions sections of www.palliativedrugs.com, the world’s leading palliative care website. Safety Updates McKinley T34 extension sets: UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issue recall All T34 syringe pump extension sets manufactured by CME (McKinley Medical UK) before 1 January 2011 have been recalled due to the […]
Millions worldwide are denied palliative care
Tens of millions of people worldwide are suffering in severe agony in their final days due to lack of access to pain medication, a Human Rights Watch report revealed. The report released this month is based on a survey of policy barriers to palliative care in 40 countries and an assessment of the availability of […]
SHORT CUTS
Articles of interest in other scholarly journals Click on the article headings to view the abstracts A comprehensive review of opioid-induced hyperalgesia Lee M, Silverman SM, Hansen H, Patel VB, Manchikanti L. Pain Physician 2011; 14:145-161 In this review of opioid-induced hyperalgesia, it is suggested that this phenomenon may result from neuroplastic changes in the […]
Integrating quantitative and qualitative methods – and getting it published
Bill Noble, BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, Editor-in-Chief Describing a study as ‘mixed method’ never felt very respectable or clever. For years we understood that finding the answer to questions about the value of parts of the health service required different kinds of data. The difficulty was knowing how best to put our findings together. […]
Should the law on assisted dying be changed?
The BMJ shines a spotlight on the assisted dying debate, with a ‘Head to Head’ article authored by Raymond Tallis, former professor of geriatric medicine (University of Manchester) and Kevin Fitzpatrick, researcher for UK campaign Not Dead Yet (7 May, 2011). Tallis argues that allowing terminally ill people to choose an assisted death is part […]
News and updates from palliativedrugs.com
Selected items from the News and Latest Additions sections of www.palliativedrugs.com the world’s leading palliative care website. Latest from the UK National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) NPSA Rapid Response Report on syringe drivers In response to over 160 error reports and eight deaths in the past 5 years, NPSA has issued a Rapid Response Report […]