END-OF-LIFE TREATMENT AND CARE

To support the position that end-of-life treatment and care is part of the continuum of care that the pharmacy workforce should provide to patients; further,

To support the position that the pharmacy workforce has a professional obligation to work in a collaborative and compassionate manner with patients, family members, caregivers, and other professionals to help fulfill the care needs, especially the quality-of-life needs, of patients of all ages receiving end-of-life treatment and care; further,

To support research on the needs of patients receiving end-of-life treatment and care; further,

To provide education and continuing education to the pharmacy workforce on end-of-life treatment and care, including education on clinical, managerial, professional, and legal issues; further,

To urge the inclusion of such topics in the curricula of colleges of pharmacy and pharmacy technician education and training programs.

Rationale

The National Cancer Institute defines end-of-life care as care provided to people near the end of life who have stopped treatment aimed at curing or controlling their disease. It includes physical, emotional, social, and spiritual support for the patient and their family. End-of-life care may also be referred to as palliative care, supportive care, comfort care, and hospice care. As medication-use experts across the continuum of care, the pharmacy workforce is expected to encounter patients requiring end-of-life treatment and care. The pharmacy workforce therefore needs to be competent, collaborative, and compassionate in the provision of care for patients at the end of life.

In 2016, ASHP published the ASHP Guidelines on the Pharmacist’s Role in Palliative and Hospice Care. The guidelines outlined essential and desirable administrative and clinical roles of the pharmacy workforce as well as practice development, advocacy, and advancement initiatives. The guidelines support pharmacists providing direct patient care, medication order review and reconciliation, and education and medication counseling within hospice programs. The guidelines also include pharmacist support of transitions of care (including from aggressive treatment to comfort care), student and clinician training in the unique needs of this population, and contribution to the body of knowledge via writing, speaking, or research to improve treatments and processes.