Consideration of a local cooperation system for the terminal stage cancer patient who is under the nursing care service insurance--be thoughtful with the bereaved family

摘要

Although a number of terminal stage cancer patients exist who strongly desire their last moment to be at home, there are many cases where patients die at the hospital. One of the factors that patients die at the hospital is due to inadequacy in providing home care services. Because of a recent revision of the nursing care service insurance, a terminal stage cancer patient now could use this service as a specially designated disease patient. We also received candid ideas and suggestions from the bereaved families who were home care givers, on how to help maintain the patients' QOL at the last stage of their life at home. As a result, we acknowledged that the most urgent solution to the problem is to establish a local cooperation system to support a patient whose final stage of life is to be meaningful.