Oncology Teams: Achieving Goal-Concordant Care and Improving Pain and Symptom Management
Last Reviewed: March 4, 2019
Improving quality of life for cancer patients and their families reduces suffering, reduces preventable readmissions, and improves quality outcomes.
To achieve these goals, oncologists need the skills to have effective conversations with patients and families about their treatment goals and to safely manage pain and other symptoms. When patient needs are especially acute—complex pain and symptoms or conflicts among patient, family, and physician—oncologists often consult the specialty palliative care team for an added layer of support.
This toolkit contains training and clinical tools for oncology clinicians from all disciplines.
Download a course catalog with information about continuing education credits and ABIM MOC points for all CAPC courses here.
What’s in the Toolkit
Communication Skills
Communicate about what matters to patients and families in order to create a care plan aligned with what is most important to them.
Advance Care Planning Conversations
Last Updated: November 12, 2015
How to initiate and conduct conversations about advance care planning.
start the courseClarifying Goals of Care
Last Updated: January 15, 2015
Strategies for eliciting patient goals and preferences to inform treatment decisions.
start the courseConducting a Family Meeting
Last Updated: January 15, 2015
Communication techniques for an effective family meeting.
start the courseDelivering Serious News
Last Updated: January 15, 2015
Communicating serious clinical news to patients and families.
start the courseDiscussing Prognosis
Last Updated: January 15, 2015
How to discuss patient prognosis in a manner that is sensitive, clear, and supportive.
start the coursePain and Symptom Management
Assess and safely manage pain, dyspnea, nausea and vomiting, constipation, anxiety, and depression.
Course 1: Comprehensive Pain Assessment
Last Updated: July 1, 2019
Conducting a comprehensive pain assessment to guide safe and effective treatment.
start the courseCourse 4: Assessing Risk for Opioid Substance Use Disorder
Last Updated: July 1, 2019
Integrating routine risk assessment for substance use disorder when considering or using opioid therapy.
start the courseCourse 5: Opioid Trials: Determining Design, Efficacy, and Safety
Last Updated: January 7, 2020
Designing a safe and effective opioid trial for the patient with serious illness.
start the courseCourse 8: Monitoring for Opioid Efficacy, Side Effects, and Substance Use Disorder
Last Updated: July 1, 2019
Ongoing evaluation of opioid benefits, risks, and side effects for the patient with serious illness.
start the courseCourse 14: Pain Management: Putting it All Together
Last Updated: July 1, 2019
Safe opioid prescribing for patients with serious illness, using the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) Guidelines for the Chronic Use of Opioid Analgesics.
start the course
Prescribing Opioids: A Pocket Reference
Last Updated: December 20, 2019
Opioid pocket reference for providers including safe starting doses, equianalgesic chart, and standard dosing strengths. Center to Advance Palliative Care, 2019.
members loginSymptom Management
Last Updated: March 4, 2019
Training curriculum and clinical tools for assessing and managing five common symptoms in patients living with serious illness.
viewCollaborating with Palliative Care Teams
Know how to describe palliative care to patients and families and when to refer.
An In-Depth Look At Palliative Care And Its Services
Last Updated: January 15, 2015
Defining palliative care, which patients need it, how it is delivered, and how palliative care differs from hospice.
start the course
Referral Criteria for Specialty Palliative Care
Last Updated: February 3, 2019
Checklist of triggers for referral to a specialty palliative care team.
members loginGet Palliative Care Provider Directory
Last Updated: February 3, 2019
Searchable directory of specialty palliative care providers, filtered by care setting.
viewBest Practice Models
Case studies and guidance for improving symptom management and achieving goal-concordant care.
Palliative Care and the Oncology Care Model (OCM)
Last Updated: January 29, 2019
Recommended clinician training to improve on OCM measures.
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Case Study: Moffitt Cancer Center’s Approach to Standardizing Palliative Care and Oncology Integration
Last Updated: June 14, 2019
Use of screening to risk-stratify patients for palliative care based on need. CAPC and the Accountable Care Learning Collaborative.
members loginOverall Survival Results of a Trial Assessing Patient-Reported Outcomes for Symptom Monitoring During Routine Cancer Treatment
Last Updated: February 3, 2019
Integration of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) into the routine care of patients with metastatic cancer is associated with increased survival compared with usual care. Basch, et. al. JAMA 2017.
viewImpact of Interdisciplinary Outpatient Specialty Palliative Care on Survival and Quality of Life in Adults With Advanced Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Last Updated: February 3, 2019
Patients with advanced cancer randomized to receive outpatient specialty palliative care lived longer and had better quality of life. Hoerger, et. al. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, September 2018.
viewFaculty
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Diane E. Meier, MD, FACP, FAAHPM
Director, Center to Advance Palliative Care
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Allison Silvers, MBA
Vice President, Payment and Policy
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Brynn Bowman, MPA
Vice President, Education
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Claire Ankuda, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine
The Mount Sinai Hospital
Related Toolkits See all 5 toolkits
Tools to design and implement a training initiative for care teams from all specialties, to improve quality of life for patients and families living with serious illness.
Includes 21 resources:
- The Case for Communication and Symptom Management Training
- CAPC Curriculum
- Training by Specialty or Discipline
- Implementing a Training Program
