A National Core Community Palliative Care Medicines List for managing end-of-life symptoms.

2025-09-01

Tait, Paul

Aylmer, Kristen

Christie, Louis

Cooper, Karen

Fong, Lee

Lin, Chien-Che

Marinucci, Anthony

Reed, Kate

Taylor, Georgina

Tremlett, Megan

Tuffin, Penelope

Reymond, Liz

B Pharm, MClin Pharm, MSHP, MPS, Cert@IV Training and Assessment, Dip Proj Mgt, Grad Cert Health Administration, Lead Palliative Care Pharmacist, Southern Adelaide Palliative Services, Division of Rehabilitation, Aged Care and Palliative Care, Flinders Medical Centre, SA; Content Editor, Discipline of Palliative and Supportive Services, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, SA.

MCN, GradCert (Clinical Redesign), Assistant Director of Nursing, Palliative and End of Life Care Service Development, Department of Health (Tasmania), Hobart, Tas.

MBBS, ClinDipPallMed, FACEM, FACRRM, Senior Medical Officer, Palliative Care Services, Western Local Health District, Orange, NSW; Associate Professor of Medicine, Charles Sturt University School of Rural Medicine, Orange, NSW.

BSc (Hons), PhD, Project Manager, Brisbane South Palliative Care Collaborative, Queensland Health, Qld.

MBBS, DipPaed, DipDiv, CertDermatoscopy, FRACGP, DRANZCOG, Medical Advisor, Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, Newcastle, NSW.

MBBS, BMedSci, ClinDipPallMed, DCH, FRACGP, FAChPM, Palliative Medicine Specialist, Austin Health, Melbourne, Vic; General Practitioner, Myhealth Medical Centre, Melbourne, Vic.

MBBS, FRACGP, National Chair, Aged Care Specific Interest Group, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Sydney, NSW.

BN, GradCert (CritCare), DipProjManag, CertIVTrainAssess, MN (NP), Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner, Canberra Health Services, Canberra, ACT.

Georgina Taylor MBBS, BMedSc (Hons), Clin Dip Pall Med, FRACGP, FARGP, MPHTM, Medical Editor, Australian Journal of General Practice; Associate Lecturer, Flinders University, NT; Rural General Practitioner, Darwin, NT.

BPharm, AACPA, Senior Pharmacist, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Brisbane, Qld.

BPharm, PGDipHospPharm, MPallCare, AdvPracPharm, Pharmacist Lead @ Palliative Care, Western Australian Country Health Service, Perth, WA; Palliative Care Pharmacist, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Perth, WA; Palliative Care Pharmacist, Bethesda Hospital, Perth, WA.

MBBS (Hons), PhD, FRACGP, FAChPM, Director, Brisbane South Palliative Care Collaborative, Queensland Health, Qld. Elizabeth.Reymond@health.qld.gov.au.

Humans

Palliative Care

Australia

Terminal Care

Journal Article

Publication

Australians with life-limiting conditions can, with appropriate support, have a home death, if that is their choice. General practitioners (GPs) are essential for coordinating care and managing symptoms. Necessary medicines must be quickly available to provide responsive symptom management in the terminal phase. GPs can facilitate prompt availability of medicines by working collaboratively with pharmacists who have a shared understanding of the required medicines.This article explains the development of, and provides information about, the National Core Community Palliative Care Medicines List.A group of healthcare professionals with community palliative care expertise (Expert Group) compared the medicines to manage terminal phase symptoms against a set of criteria, choosing four core medicines based on their ability to manage symptoms, cost and ease of use. Creating a standardised National Core Community Palliative Care Medicines List supports clinical communication by providing an accepted baseline for symptom management; however, it should not replace communication between prescribers and pharmacists; rather, it should support collaborative practices.

link

Aust J Gen Pract . 2025 Sep;54(9):643-646. doi: 10.31128/AJGP-06-24-7327.

2208-7958

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40908607/?otool=iaurydwlib