The Development of Palliative Care Hospital Support Teams (HPCTs) in Bavaria from 2011-2015: Tasks, Acceptance, Structure and Funding

Introduction Palliative care hospital support teams (HPCTs) provide inpatients from all departments palliative medical support. Seriously ill as well as dying patients, who are being treated in facilities that do not have their own palliative care unit, can benefit from these multi-professional teams just as much as patients who do not (yet) need to be admitted to a palliative care unit. At the end of 2015, 53 HPCTs, which were in accordance with the requirements established in the Program for HPCTs by the Bavarian Ministry of Health in 2009, had been approved in Bavaria. Methods Using a questionnaire that was distributed by mail (2011) and an online survey (2015), we asked all Bavarian HPCTs, which had been approved up until then, to answer questions regarding their tasks, the level of acceptance within their hospital, the structure of their staff and funding. In addition to questions, which were rated on an applicability scale from 0 to 10, there was also room for written comments. Results The return rate in 2011 was 77% (17 questionnaires) and 53% (28) in 2015. In sum, HPCTs were widely regarded as a suitable instrument for improving in-house palliative care (2011: median 7.8 (0-10) +/- 1.9, 2015: 7.2 (0-10) +/- 2.3; n.s.). The level of acceptance among the other departments of the hospital was assessed as being significantly higher in 2015 (7.2 +/- 2.3) than it was 4 years earlier (5.7 +/- 2.2; p < 0.05). HPCTs cover various tasks, most commonly including supportive conversations, accompaniment in the dying phase, pain therapy and discharge management. However, a decline in multi-professionalism within the teams could be seen, especially in the fields of psychology/psycho-oncology and spiritual care (p < 0.05). Both surveys showed that an essential aspect in funding the teams was the supplementary payment ZE 60 for complex palliative medical treatments. However, funding in general was predominantly reported as being quite difficult: only 29 % of the HPCTs of 2015 indicated that all of their costs were covered. Conclusion HPCTs in Bavaria take over important tasks in caring for seriously ill and dying patients and their families. According to their own appraisal, the level of acceptance within hospitals is improving. The hope is that new regulations, such as the new OPS 8-98h (specialized complex palliative treatments provided by a HPCT), which was introduced in 2017, will solidify funding without jeopardizing the multi-professionalism that characterizes HPCTs.