Communication issues for the interdisciplinary community palliative care team

This paper discusses the findings of a critical study that examined the com munication patterns between nurses and general practitioners (GPs) providin g palliative care in Australia. Interviews and focus groups involved 40 palliative care nurses who worked i n the three settings of care: community, hospice and hospital. Issues that impeded effective communication strategies between palliative c are nurses and GPs were networking, case management, multiple service provi ders, lack of standardized documentation and formal tracking of clients, al ong with difficulties in transmission of relevant practice knowledge. Supporting strategies for effective formal modes of communicating and repor ting are described.