RESOURCES

New resources from Palliative Care Australia

Palliative Care Australia launched three new resources for culturally and linguistically diverse communities during the recent National Palliative Care Week.

The brochures “What can I say?” “What can I do?”, “About pain and pain management” and “About the process of dying” are available in 21 different languages.

Earlier brochures “What is Palliative Care?”, “Facts About Morphine” and “Asking questions can help” are also available.

The brochures can be downloaded or ordered from the Palliative Care Australia website – www.palliativecare.org.au (Please note: there may be a postage fee for international orders)

Dr. Yvonne Luxford
Chief Executive Officer
Palliative Care Australia Incorporated

Cancer World Newsletter: Fixing the holes in the opioid supply lines

Morphine is cheap, effective and easy to administer, so why are an estimated 3.3 million cancer patients still dying in terrible pain every year? This Spotlight article takes a look at a project that is finding answers to that question, and collaborating with governments and NGOs to find solutions on a country by country basis.

What do you think?

• Are you aware of instances where cancer patients are being left to suffer in unnecessary pain?
• What can be done to help minimize the chances of this happening?

You can read the article here. Press the comment button at the end and share your views.

Clinical Research Opportunity

International initiative to collect and rapidly report phase IV pharmacovigilance data on frequently used medications in palliative care.

Understanding the net clinical effect of medications used in palliative care is important for clinical practice as well as policy making. A new international initiative has been launched to collect and rapidly report pharmacovigilance data (phase 4 studies, postmarketing data, adverse drug reaction reporting) on frequently used medications in palliative care.

The total time taken for each clinician to enter the identified and unidentifiable data is less than 10 minutes per patient. It is envisaged that each participating unit would enter data online on at least the next three consecutive patients who were started on a study medication during a three month period. Since there are no identifying data, most units only require a waiver from their Institutional Review Board/Research Ethics Committee.

The first of the studies has been completed and demonstrates that this approach is feasible and will add important information to the prescribing practices of those within the palliative care clinical environment.

Sites are invited to join this exciting opportunity to improve the quality of the care that we offer our patients by contacting [email protected]

The Journal of Palliative Medicine has kindly agreed to publish each of these studies. Given the response so far, we hope that the number of sites from around the world contributing to this study will grow so that we can share our clinical experiences and refine the care that we offer.

The complete outline of this initiative is available in J Palliat Med 2012:15(3);282-286

David C Currow
Professor of Palliative and Supportive Services
Flinders University, Australia.