The hidden issues of anticipatory medications in community palliative care

O’Connor, Margaret; Gatens, Susan; Le, Brian H

doi:10.5694/mja14.00030

Topics

To the Editor: Most people, because of the “normality” it offers, wish to die at home.1 Additional interconnected factors, including preferences, functional status and caregiving responsibilities, contribute to achieving this desire.2 Key to the inability to stay at home is lack of symptom control, frequently resulting in hospital admission.3

1 School of Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC.
2 Palliative Care, Melbourne City Mission, Melbourne, VIC.
3 Department of Palliative Care, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC.

Correspondence: margaret.oconnor@monash.edu

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

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