This app helps GPs to manage older patients needing a palliative approach to care.
Why do we need palliAGEDgp?
In Australia the demographics of death are changing. Today most people die an expected death from one or a combination of various chronic progressive conditions.The majority of Australians report that they would prefer to be cared for and to die at home, but in reality only a minority achieve this outcome.
As most deaths are expected, death can be planned for and required care delivered in a pre-emptive fashion. General practitioners (GPs) have a central role in planning and providing for that care.
Extensive consultation was undertaken in the production of The Guide and included:
- Palliative Care Specialists:
- Professor Liz Reymond, Metro South Palliative Care Service
- Dr Greg Parker, Metro South Palliative Care Service
- Dr Louise Welch, Nambour Hospital
- Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine (ANZSPM) members, in particular Dr Michael Chapman
- Pharmacist:
- Tony Hall, Pharmacist, Gold Coast Interdisciplinary Persistent Pain Centre & Griffith University, School of Pharmacy
- Nurse Practitioners working in palliative care:
- Lea-anne Tuaoi, Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital
- Peter Jenkin, Resthaven, Adelaide
- Kris McAnelly, Metro South Palliative Care Service
- Margaret Adams, Metro South Palliative Care Service
- Metro South Palliative Care Service clinical staff working in residential aged care
- PA Toolkit project Steering Committee and Clinical Education Reference Group
- The Steering Committee members included representatives from ANZSPM, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Leading Age Services Australia (LASA), University of QLD / Blue Care Research & Practice Development Centre
- The Clinical Group members included representatives from Palliative Care Queensland, Aged and Community Services SA & NT, Pharmacist, Queensland Health, Resthaven, Respecting Patient Choices, Queensland University of Technology and CareSearch.
The Guide was approved by the Australian Government Department of Social Services (Dr Susan Hunt, Senior Nurse Advisor, Office of Aged Care Quality and Compliance, and the Pharmacy Division due to the inclusion of medications and dosing).
The ANZSPM Council endorsed the ‘Palliative Care in Residential Aged Care Facilities: Medications Commonly Used to Manage Symptoms at End of Life’ and the ‘End of Life (Terminal) Symptom Management Medications for Residential Aged Care Facilities’ documents that are included in the PA Toolkit project resource ‘Guide to the Pharmacological Management of End of Life (Terminal) Symptoms in Residential Aged Care’ (The Guide) in 2013.
The palliAGEDgp app utilises the content and pharmacological guidance developed as part of the PA Toolkit project. The framework for palliative care is being utilised within the GP Education activities for palliative care forming part of the Decision Assist program.
A Smartphone Working Group reviewed options for the smartphone development and endorsed the use of the framework and the pharmacological guidance document described above.
The basic architecture and navigation was developed by the Smartphone Working Group and the Guidance Advisory Technology Innovation (GATI) Project Team. The basic architecture and content was approved by the GATI Advisory Group in December 2014. This group also undertook usability testing of the app in April 2015.
Editorial control in the initial development of the app was exercised by the Guidance and Technological Innovation (GATI) Advisory Group and the Decision Assist Expert Program Group. The palliAGED Project Team has now assumed ongoing editorial responsibility of the palliAGEDgp app.
Genki Design was responsible for the graphic design for the app. Morton Blacketer was responsible for the technological development of the app.
We would like to acknowledge the valuable expertise and knowledge that has been provided to support the development of this app. We would like to thank the following members for their contributions to this project:
GATI Project Team
- Associate Professor Jennifer Tieman
- Paul Tait
- Amanda Adams
GATI GP Smartphone Workshop group
- Dr Christine Sanderson
- Dr Greg Parker
- Dr Holly Deer
- Dr Linda Foreman
- Dr Syarif Yassin
- Dr Timothy To
GATI Advisory Group
- Dr Annette Carruthers
- Carolanne Barkla
- Dr Christine Sanderson
- David Ng
- Dr Deidre Morgan
- Helen Mikolaj
- John Haberecht
- Karen Conte
- Kay Richards
- Larissa McIntyre
- Professor Liz Reymond
- Sandy Scholes
- Dr Tony Coles
Page updated 25 February 2022