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POS - How to implement
Research has shown that clinicians are generally willing to use POS. However,they can be barriers to implementation (or wider and sustained use). Implementation can be aided by:
 
  • good communication
  • a proactive approach that involves all members of the team
  • ensuring that POS adds value to the work of individuals within organisation, for example, providing examples of how POS contributes to understanding and addressing a patient's clinical needs is important for clinicians
  • access to evidence-based recommendations and scientific papers
  • training to ensure the development of POS competencies
 
Staff (researchers and clinicians) and carers are sometimes reluctant to use outcome measures with patients as they fear that it might upset or distress them. POS has been rigorously tested with patients and patients’ views have helped develop POS. Research has shown that POS has good face validity with patients. This means patients perceive that POS captures what is important to them.
 
Resources to help implement outcome measures in palliative care are available.
 
There is no absolutely right or wrong way of implementing POS in a clinical setting because no two settings are alike: resources available are different, palliative care teams are different and operate/integrate in different ways and the populations served are also different both clinically and culturally. Therefore, after a first try on implementing POS in clinical practice, discussions and some changes will most likely need to be made so that it fits with the reality of each setting.
 
The Cicely Saunders Institute runs training courses periodically on POS. Please visit the training page.
 
The Department has also recently published a systematic review - as open access - which provides facilitators, barriers and evidence based recommendations to implement patient reported outcome measures in palliative care clinical practice:
 
Antunes B, Harding R, Higginson IJ. Implementing Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) in Palliative Care clinical practice: a systematic review of facilitators and barriers. Pall Med. 2013 DOI: 10.1177/0269216313491619
 
  POS supporters and collaborators
 
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King's Health Partners logo
 
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