According to the Government of Ontario, palliative care is " ...care for patients and their families who are facing a serious, life-limiting illness. Palliative care is patient-centred coordinated care that aims to relieve suffering and improve quality of life for patients and their families at all stages of the illness. Palliative care focuses on a holistic approach to treat the impact that an illness has on patients and their families and is often provided in addition to clinical care that focuses on treating the illness itself."
Before calling our firm regarding a palliative patient, we strongly recommend that the following procedure be followed:
Contact the team lead overseeing the palliative care team
Contact your Ontario Health atHome Coordinator overseeing the patient's file (if there is an assigned coordinator)
Ontario Health atHome can be reached at 310-2222 (no area code required)
Contact your family doctor, who has care and control of the patient's entire medical file
Contact 811 - a 24-hour, free, and confidential hotline for health information in Ontario
A telephone intake will be required when a family member calls our firm regarding a palliative care patient.
Priority will be given to patients without a family doctor and without access to office-based care. It is strongly recommended that you maintain a relationship with the patient's family doctor and care team.
If the decision is made to continue requesting our services regarding an in-home palliative care consult, fees will apply.